Phantom vibration syndrome

Phantom vibration syndrome or phantom ringing is the sensation and false belief that one can feel their mobile phone vibrating or hear it ringing, when in fact the telephone is not doing so.

Overview

Phantom vibration syndrome is relatively new psychological phenomenon where people mistakenly think their mobile phone is vibrating in their pocket. It is named after the perceived vibrations from a device like a mobile phone that is not really vibrating. Other terms for this concept include ringxiety (a portmanteau of ring and anxiety), fauxcellarm (a portmanteau of "faux" /fo͜ʊ/ meaning "fake" or "false" and "cellphone" and "alarm" pronounced similarly to "false alarm") and phonetom (a portmanteau of "phone" and "phantom").

Causes

The syndrome is often attributed to human-computer interaction and our heavy use of ICT and digital devices. It is thought to be a tactile hallucination since the brain perceives a sensation that is not present. The cause of this syndrome is not known but is thought to be related to our heightened awareness and our mind interpreting random nerve impulses as a familiar pattern - the vibration of a phone.

Symptoms

The main symptom of phantom vibration syndrome is the false belief that your phone is vibrating or ringing when it is not. This can lead to constant checking of the phone and can be a source of distraction and stress.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for phantom vibration syndrome. However, some strategies that may help include taking regular breaks from your phone, turning off vibrate mode, and using a different ringtone or vibration pattern.

See also

• Mobile phone radiation and health
• Nomophobia
• Computer vision syndrome
• Technostress

External links

• Phantom Vibration Syndrome: An Emerging Phenomenon on PubMed Central
• Phantom Vibration Syndrome on Psychology Today

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