An experiential account of phantom vibration syndrome

A small handful of recent studies have addressed a phenomenon known as ''phantom vibration syn-drome''. This refers to when phone users perceive their device to vibrate, indicating that a call or text is incoming, when in fact the phone did not vibrate at all. Though these studies show that most users do not find phantom vibration hallucinations to be very bothersome, they also find that a large majority of users experience this phenomenon. This paper explores what the striking prevalence of phantom vibration syndrome means for our contemporary relationships with technology. I begin with a review of the theories purporting to explain these data, which largely rely on particular understandings of the brain. Next I develop an alternative theory of phantom vibration syndrome based on insights from the philosophical tradition of phenomenology. This account considers the ways users develop bodily and perceptual habits regarding how the phone is understood and used. By critically contrasting these different theories, we can refine our questions about what the high prevalence of phantom vibration syndrome implies about our contemporary technological situation. As cell phones become increasingly commonplace, questions are raised about how they may influence our everyday lives. One phenomenon that seems to speak to such questions is called ''phantom vibration syndrome''. This refers to when a user, whose phone is set to vibrate if an incoming call or text is received, experiences the phone to vibrate when in fact it was not vibrating at all. That is, this refers to a hallucination in which users perceive an inert phone to vibrate, believing that they are receiving a call or text message. What makes phantom vibrations interesting is their remarkable prevalence. In a study of undergraduates, almost 90% are found to have experienced phantom phone vibrations (Drouin, Kaiser, & Miller, 2012). A study of hospital workers found that nearly 70% have experienced this hallucination Although this phenomenon is sometimes called ''phantom vibration syndrome'' in the popular and scientific literature, this is something of a misnomer. Or as Rothberg and colleagues put it, ''Just as the Holy Roman Empire was not holy, Roman, or an empire, phantom vibration syndrome does not involve a phantom, nor is it technically a syndrome'' (2010, 3). Phantom vibrations are nowhere technically classified as a syndrome, and only a very small percentage of users report finding the experience ''very both-ersome'' (e.g., Drouin et al., 2012; Rothberg et al., 2010). The …