And yes, you are not alone! If like me, you sometimes feel your mobile vibrate in your pocket when in fact, it is not, you are part of the 90% of people (mobile phone users) who suffer from this syndrome.
In a study conducted by Robert Rosenberger from the American university Georgia Tech, the philosopher and assistant professor tries to explain this phenomenon which is probably very widespread since it affects nine out of ten people.
For the researcher, this syndrome could be explained by " acquired body habits » by cell phone users. By keeping your phone in your pocket all the time, it becomes « a part of your body " and you end up not paying attention to it anymore as can be the case for glasses wearers.
People then experience sensations such as clothes moving due to muscle spasm as if it were vibrations from their phone, but this is just a hallucination.
In an interview given to the BBC, Robert Rosenberger adds:
A recent study of undergraduate students indicated that 90% of them reported feeling these phantom vibrations.
The study also explains that people are very anxious today due to the increase in requests from all their devices: emails, notifications, text messages, etc.
On the occasion of this study, Georgia Tech even produced a short video (in English) to explain the phenomenon:
In short, if you are affected by this syndrome, rest assured, most people are in your case!
