Feeling Your Phone Vibrate When It’s Not? How to Manage Your Smartphone Anxiety

Among the numerous digital devices that have become indispensable in modern life, smartphones, in particular, are so familiar to us that they can lead to addiction. Many people claim they can’t live without their phones for even a day and feel anxious if they don’t check their phone alarms regularly. But what if you feel your phone vibrate when it doesn’t? You might be experiencing phantom vibration syndrome.

A New Syndrome Born in the Digital Age

Phantom vibration syndrome is when you feel like your smartphone is vibrating, even though you haven’t received a call or text. This is a delusion that has become more common as smartphone dependency increases. According to a survey, 8 out of 10 smartphone users have experienced this syndrome. It is also referred to as “phonetom” – a combination of phone and phantom, and “ringxiety” – a combination of ring and anxiety.

The proliferation of Smartphones and Smartwatches is the Cause

The proliferation of various smartphones and smartwatches has led to an increase in people experiencing phantom vibration syndrome. Cell phones have become essential to daily life, and dependency on them has increased. This syndrome is most commonly experienced by salespeople who rely heavily on calls.

Possibility of Attachment Anxiety and Insomnia

Phantom vibration syndrome, whose leading cause is psychological factors, does not cause physical problems even if experienced continuously. According to several research results, phantom vibration syndrome has a close relationship with attachment anxiety and insomnia. The higher the symptoms of attachment anxiety and the more severe the insomnia, the higher the probability of exposure to phantom vibration syndrome.

Conscious Effort to Break Free is Needed

If you’ve experienced phantom vibration syndrome without even realizing it, you must consciously put your phone in another room for 1-2 hours, read a book, or turn off your phone to take a break from using it. Turning off your smartphone for about 10 minutes every 2-3 hours can also help, as can turning off vibration mode or frequently changing the ringtone.

What if it Doesn’t Get Better?

But what if you’re still experiencing the syndrome despite your efforts? Then, you may have other obsessive-compulsive disorders or be addicted to your smartphone. It can be helpful to self-diagnose whether you’ve been overly dependent on your smartphone. While most cases of phantom vibration syndrome disappear with conscious efforts and maintaining a relaxed state of mind, it may be an excellent opportunity to check your physical condition if the symptoms persist.

Could I be Suffering from Smartphone Dependency?

You may also need to examine whether you are suffering from smartphone dependency through the following self-test.

• If you feel shaky and anxious without your smartphone
• If you feel like you’ve lost a friend, if you lose your phone
• You look at your smartphone for more than 2 hours a day
• You have more than 30 apps installed on your smartphone and use most of them
• You take your phone to the bathroom
• You search on your phone even while driving/type faster on your smartphone than others
• You run immediately to your phone when you hear an alarm while eating
• You have shopped on your smartphone more than twice

0-3 is average, 4-7 is early dependency, and 8-10 could be seen as symptoms of dependency risk.

Nomophobia is a Similar Type of Syndrome

Nomophobia syndrome, a contraction of ‘No mobile phone phobia,’ is a condition where you feel anxious and terrified if you don’t have your phone with you. It can be seen as a term similar to smartphone addiction. Most of these people feel lonely and anxious, and they can’t take their eyes off their smartphones even when crossing the street or on a bus or subway, which can lead to accidents if not careful.

Three Symptoms of Nomophobia Syndrome

The three main symptoms of nomophobia syndrome are as follows: You’ve experienced symptoms of repeatedly checking for messages and feeling vibrations or hearing rings that didn’t happen / You prefer communicating through your smartphone rather than meeting people in person / You’ve had financial problems due to excessive use of your smartphone. If all three symptoms apply to you, you might want to question whether you have nomophobia.

FOMO Syndrome

FOMO syndrome, an abbreviation for “Fear of missing out,” refers to the fear of missing out on good experiences that others have in daily life, missing the latest trends, or being excluded from them. It means fear of being left out, also called ‘isolation syndrome.’ It was registered in the Oxford Dictionary in 2013. Originally used as a marketing term, the meaning has changed to the psychology of feeling jealous and excluded when seeing the infinite information shared on social media, feeling like you have to follow suit.

 

Digital Isolation Syndrome

Digital isolation syndrome is where smartphone communication is more comfortable than meeting people in person. This includes communicating through messenger or text, shopping, and ordering through apps rather than offline stores. If these symptoms worsen, it could lead to difficulties in connecting with others and forming interpersonal relationships in the future.

By. Shin Young Jeon