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 Your cell phone. Do you shake without it? Do you feel nervous when it isn’t in your line of sight, counting down the painful minutes until you are finally reunited? Do you pay more attention to it than you do your loved ones? Are you so consumed with it that you hear its familiar sound everywhere you go?
If you answered yes, particularly to the last question, you might be experiencing a form of cell phone dependency, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.
The study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, detailed “phantom phone vibrations” as the imagining of the sounds your cell phone might make if it were receiving a text message or call.
Researchers enlisted the help of 766 (384 females and 382 males) college undergrads to measure the relationship between phone dependency and the “phantom phone vibration” phenomenon with a personality test and survey.
The personality test measured the participants’ levels of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability, or neuroticism.
Answering yes when asked if the participant had ever experienced a “phantom phone vibration” led to additional questions about the frequency of those sensations.
A final step of the research involved a survey called the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale, which asked students how they felt about their phones. The questions revolved around feelings tied to the phone (i.e., were they anxious without it, did an incoming message improve their mood, etc.).
The results were fairly obvious, with those experiencing the phantom ringing sensation tied to increased feelings of dependence on their phones. According to the study, female students, younger students, and students who exhibited signs of emotional instability (determined by the personality test) had higher occurrences of this sensation.
And, like any true addiction, there are potential negative side effects to being consumed with your cell phone. Some of the side effects listed by researchers include weight gain, depression, and feelings of isolation.
So, how do you curb the dependency? Researchers offered the following suggestions for quitting your cell phone: set a cell phone usage schedule; create activities outside of cell phone usage; get rid of apps that you don’t need; shut the cell phone down during set times, and, ultimately, go on a cell phone fast.
Are you addicted to your cell phone? Do you experience “phantom phone vibrations”? Could you go on a cell phone fast?
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