Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Topics: Health, Apple, Technology, TikTok
Ella Scott
Smartphone dependency is real, what with our work calendars, intimate conversations with our friends and sought-after concert tickets all residing on our iPhone or Android devices.
Anyone who owns a mobile will be well acquainted with push notifications from shopping apps, as well as instant memos informing you a poorly-timed bill has been paid out of your bank.
But have you ever opened up your Apple device after physically feeling it go off, only to discover the front screen is completely blank?
If you have, then you are a victim of phantom vibration syndrome (PVS)—a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly common.
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A study published in the popular journal Science Direct defines a PVS sufferer as someone who has ‘perceived vibrations from a device that is not really vibrating’.
Moreover, DermNet claims the event is associated with ‘excessive mobile phone use’, describing it as a sort of ‘tactile hallucination’.
While no specific population is more prone to PVS, a 2012 study did find that nine out of ten undergraduate students admitted to experiencing the event in the past.
But it’s claimed the majority of these young adults weren’t too bothered by the sensation.
The ones who were irked by PVS reportedly had stronger reactions to text messages on average, thus being labelled as having a higher emotional reaction subscale of text message dependence.
While these phantom message pings aren’t a newly discovered sensation, many iPhone users have recently been taking to social media to complain about them.
After watching a video on TikTok where a woman experiences PVS, one user wrote: “Thought I was so addicted to my phone that I was imagining notifications omg this is a relief.”
A second typed: “Every time I open WhatsApp my phone vibrates even when there’s no new message.”
“Glitch in the Matrix,” remarked another user, as someone else penned: “I got a notification right as this played and I got scared.”
“I thought someone was deleting the messages or was hackers,” commented a fifth.
While signs and symptoms of PVS are debated, some scientists claim frequent mobile phone use and post-traumatic disorder could trigger phantom notification feelings.
Emotional attachment to gadgets and constantly having your device on vibration mode could contribute to the notion, writes Nurses Zone.
Unfortunately, little research has been on on the prevention of phantom vibrations.
However, if you’re experiencing them frequently, you might be best putting the electronic device down for a while and reconnecting with hobbies, nature and your friends IRL.