What is Digg?273 Comments
- Alphonze, on 10/21/2007, -8/+284this happens to me all the time at work. for serious.
- noneisme, on 10/11/2007, -1/+241This has happened to me when I wasn't even carrying my phone.
- juckman, on 10/11/2007, -11/+228I've gotten the phantom vibration before. I don't own a cellphone though. I usually keep sex toys in my pocket.
- JohnnyXmas, on 10/21/2007, -1/+165Thank GOD. I thought I was crazy.
I still do, but at least I got THIS cleared up. - Balk2K, on 10/11/2007, -2/+116I get it too but usually when I'm walking or on a bus which introduces other vibrations which I mistake for my phone
- RainNIU, on 10/11/2007, -1/+74That happens *all* the time. I sometimes think I feel it vibrating in the cup-holder next to me and sometimes in my pocket.
I turn down the music, look at it, and shake my fist at the heavens. - Shroomie, on 10/11/2007, -2/+63"This has happened to me when I wasn't even carrying my phone."
Strangely enough, that seems to be when it happens to me the most. It's almost as annoying as when I try to push my glasses up and realize I'm not wearing them. - Dpack1, on 10/11/2007, -6/+58I get something similar. While i get the phantom vibration thing a lot i also seem to grab my phone out of my pocket literally seconds before i get a text message or it rings.
It would be interesting to see a study on if certain people are more sensitive to cell phone signals and can almost 'sense' when they're about to ring. - dasilva333, on 10/11/2007, -2/+41this started happening to me about 1 or two years after i got my first vibrating phone i think its caused by surrounding environment vibrations, good read for sure
im so glad im not crazy ive told other people about it and they just look at me funny - elhaf, on 10/11/2007, -5/+37Happens to me on my motorcycle. Go figure.
- hoovcluck, on 10/11/2007, -0/+27It means the tumor is starting to grow.
- monsterpyro, on 10/11/2007, -1/+26No it's not. Phantom limb is caused by unused parts of the brain being invaded by nerve cells that get use. For example when you lose your arm, the part of your brain that was in charge of feeling touch on your arm no longer has any use. The part of your brain which controls feeling in your cheek then invades the unused part because it is close by. When you touch someone's cheek, they then feel it in their phantom arm as well. The nerves have mixed.
The cellphone phenomena is not due to nerves dying, but due to Pavlovian conditioning. Your brain begins to associate the vibrations with the slightly heightened emotional state you get when receiving a call. Will the call be from someone you like? Will it be from someone you hate? This is the where the heightened emotional state comes from. Your nerves then become very sensitive to vibration, and the smallest thing can set you off.
I have this happen to me daily. I always wondered about it until I took a class on psychology, and Pavlovian conditioning provided me a satisfactory explanation. - NSMike, on 10/11/2007, -0/+23"Nine times out of ten it's an electric razor, but sometimes..."
- jun2san, on 10/11/2007, -4/+27I feel so much better knowing that I'm not the only one!
Now that I got that off my chest, digg me down. - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -3/+25Is this like the phantom limb syndrome, but with a frinkin' cellphone?
- python2121, on 10/11/2007, -2/+21Happens to me when I'm driving and I mistake bass or engine vibrations.
- dasilva333, on 10/11/2007, -4/+20@ dpack1
you know that has happened to me about 3 times in my whole life i just figured it must be a coincidence but have u ever noticed how speakers in the vicnity make a noise when a cellphone is about to ring, before it rings, maybe even when there isn't speakers nearby we can somehow feel that... i dunno and to noneisme that has also happened to me when im not carrying my phone and the 3 different phones ive carried - youngandwise, on 10/11/2007, -2/+18This happens to me all the time, but sometimes its just my travel sized dildo
- spidoman, on 10/11/2007, -3/+18Kind of off topic, but have you ever put your phone on vibrate when you're driving, and then put it right under your sack? It's quite startling when you get a call.
- eth0izzle, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14@dpack1
Me too. I usually wake up about 10 seconds before my phone rings or I receive a text. I pick my phone up to check the time and it vibrates! I've done this at least 15 times. Weird. - Dgen_X, on 10/11/2007, -5/+17same here, and like JohnnyXmas down there I thought I was just going insane
- moofer, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12This is the perfect opportunity for me to use my favorite word of all time... Gonad.
- ripstuntz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+14I thought I was friggin' nuts before reading this article. Funny thing -- happened to me as I was reading it.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10gonads and strife
- r5a2k3, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10i'm not that much of a baller to be called that often to develop this.
i think if i were a drug dealer this would be an issue. - apachedisco, on 10/11/2007, -0/+93 out of the 4 voices in my head agreed with you.
- f4nt0m4s, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10i get made fun of occasionally for checking my phone when i thought it vibrated
"who's calling?"
"nobody...i thought i felt it vibrate"
/cries - trer, on 10/11/2007, -3/+9This happened to me too but then i realized i'm just masturbating.
- xaerius, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6My theory is that your leg nerves are responding to the radio frequency (RF) transmission that occurs periodically when your phone updates itself with the tower.
To take that even further, there might be sensations from that RF that we do not realize we are sensing, but the brain has associated them with an impending ring, thus triggering a false vibration. - smackywentz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7I don't know about Phantom Limb Syndrome but I performed a little experiment. I haven't used a cellphone for about 4 months. I used to get twitches in my eye or leg all the time. Now I have nothing. After about a month they were gone. I still haven't used a phone. I also sleep better. I don't know if it's placebo, but I doubt it because originally I wasn't using a phone because I couldn't pay the bill. After seeing the positive effects I just stopped. I used to always think my phone was vibrating in my pocket as well. Who knows?
- Coven, on 10/11/2007, -3/+9tmi
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6three possible answers:
your leg can somehow sense the microwave transmission that makes your radio or speakers go beep-dee-abeep-beep-beep just before a call;
your leg is psychic;
or, you and your leg, sir, are crazy. - omgomgomg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5OMG this is such a relief, i thought i was alone. I can finally live my life without shame.
- cuoops, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Time to call the Mythbusters
- specialK16, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6"Back in the day, I used to hear the dial-up modem noises in my head..
Tssshhhhhh... Beep Beep Bepp.."
Ha, me too!
"This is the where the heightened emotional state comes from. Your nerves then become very sensitive to vibration, and the smallest thing can set you off."
Go figure. I seriously hate my cellphone. People calling in all the time, worst part is, most calls arent even mine. - cogit0, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Kind of, but not really. Phantom Limb Syndrome is the phenomenon when a limb is amputated, but the individual still feels its presence, and pain. This has been shown to be caused by the proximity of the limb representation in the brain to other areas, and due to neural plasticity (ability to rewire itself) connecting to those neighboring areas. For example, if you lost your left arm, you would "feel" your left arm being touched when certain places on your left upper chest and left chin/cheek are touched. See Ramachandran VS (2005) in Clinical Medicine (a journal) for a good review on clinical implications of phantom limb.
From TFA, this phenomenon seems to be using the brain's plasticity to respond strongly to a vibrational input at a certain location on your leg. If the neural circuit rewires itself in a particular way, stimulation that is even remotely similar (riding a motorcycle, something else in your pocket rubbing your leg) will feel very similar to the vibrations that the cellphone causes. This can be more adequately described by an effect called 'priming'.
edit: damn monsterpyro, took too long getting the reference ;) - riceguitar, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Sure no one likes Cell Phone Phantom Vibes... but you know it's bad when you feel it and your phone isn't even in the same room.
- redmyse, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8I used to talk on my cell a lot and it would usually be with the phone on the left side of my head (habit). After a while whenever I had my phone on that side of my head my cheek muscles would consistently twitch uncontrollably, and wouldn't stop until I got off the phone.
I never talk on my cellphone anymore. - youngandwise, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Tell that to Tom Green
- wastern, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5I feel it vibrate when its not, mostly while driving. But on some days I'll hear it ring all the time as well. Not ringing in my ear, but my distinct ringtone. It was happening every 20-30 minutes one day and it drove me mad. Everyone thought I was nuts
- fubuvsfitch, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4ya it happened to me at work too. i was a waiter, and kept my phone in my apron. honestly, i think the phantom vibes arose out of a subconscious desire for my then girlfriend to text me about what we were getting into that night. =)
- markgl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4fish hehe. funny. yeah the bass vibrations throw me off all the time. it sucks i can't figure that out half the time.
- catalytica, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I swear sometimes, with no one else around, I hear my phone ring too -my specific ringtone- but when I check the phone no one has called.
- ruley, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4does this happen to anyone else when they're high?
i pull out my phone at least 10 times every time a smoke - Torpov, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I've gotten it ever since I got my phone. It's been the worst on the subway going to work, though. I get no signal on the train, but because of this and the damn train vibrating, every 2 seconds I have to reach into my pocket to see the damn thing, but since the train is packed, I end up hitting someone's ass and getting a dirty look.
- specialK16, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Or....
you have your cellphone configured to vibrate then ring. - zombiesrule, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3i always assumed it was neurological damage from years of drug abuse...thank god
- gopmesiah, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3yeah, i even get it when I know the phone isn't in my pocket. It'll be sitting on the desk right in front of me, and still I'll feel the phantom vibration and reach for it.
- letdowntourist, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I get it when playing my bass live and its turned way up. I have to take it out of my pocket before we start a set or the feeling bothers me the entire time.
- converge, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3This happens to me occasionally. But more often I get the "phantom ring" syndrome, where I'm in the shower and I think I hear my phone ringing only to find it didn't.
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