1. arose4me7305's Avatar
    Am I completely insane?!

    I swear, I hear my phone vibrate but when I pick it up there's nothing new to look at. People I know with BB's say the same thing!

    Sometimes I even think I FEEL it vibrating. If I have it in my purse, I could swear I feel it going off, but when I look at it.... Nothing!

    I think I'm going nutso.
    10-30-08 01:53 PM
  2. killthischorus's Avatar
    Am I completely insane?!

    I swear, I hear my phone vibrate but when I pick it up there's nothing new to look at. People I know with BB's say the same thing!

    Sometimes I even think I FEEL it vibrating. If I have it in my purse, I could swear I feel it going off, but when I look at it.... Nothing!

    I think I'm going nutso.

    happens to me all the time, scares me a bit too.

    i actually read somewhere (or saw it on the news) about this being common amongst some cell phone users.

    just googled "phantom cell phone vibrations" and got this.
    10-30-08 02:25 PM
  3. WE8830SILVER's Avatar
    thank goodness I'm not the only one who has the problem. It's an awful thing some times, and it always happens to me at the worst times too. sigh several embarrasing stories on the front
    10-30-08 03:00 PM
  4. azbryan's Avatar
    I agree. I'll have my phone on my desk @ work and feel my front pocket vibe. I'll reach for it and realize im staring right at my love... I mean my blackberry!

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    10-30-08 06:16 PM
  5. robin48's Avatar
    I believe the BB longs to be held by it's owner so it vibrates.
    10-30-08 06:16 PM
  6. Notrega's Avatar
    Edit - sorry I missed the link killthischorus posted...

    http:// www .usatoday.com/news/health/2007-06-12-cellphones_N.htm

    Good vibrations? Bad? None at all?
    Updated 6/12/2007 10:25 PM

    By Angela Haupt, USA TODAY
    Some call it "phantom vibration syndrome." Others prefer "vibranxiety" — the feeling when you answer your vibrating cellphone, only to find it never vibrated at all.

    "It started happening about three years ago, when I first got a cellphone," says Canadian Steven Garrity, 28, of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. "I'd be sitting on the couch and feel my phone start to vibrate, so I'd reach down and pull it out of my pocket. But the only thing ringing was my thigh."

    Though no known studies have analyzed what may cause spontaneous buzzing, anecdotes such as Garrity's ring true with the public.

    Spurred by curiosity, Garrity, a Web developer, described the recurring false alarms on his blog. The response was not imaginary: More than 30 cellphone users reported that they, too, experienced phantom vibrations.

    "I ended up hearing from a lot of people who said, 'Hey, the exact same thing happens to me,' " Garrity says. "And it was somewhat comforting, because it made me think I wasn't insane, after all."
    FIND MORE STORIES IN: Internet | Cleveland | University of Illinois | Cingular Wireless | Urbana-Champaign | Prince Edward Island | University Hospitals | Charlottetown

    Some who experienced recurring phantom vibrations wondered whether the phenomenon had physical roots: Was it caused by nerve damage or muscle memory?

    But experts say the false alarms simply demonstrate how easily habits are developed.

    Psychologically, the key to deciphering phantom vibrations is "hypothesis-guided search," a theory that describes the selective monitoring of physical sensations, says Jeffrey Janata, director of the behavioral medicine program at University Hospitals in Cleveland. It suggests that when cellphone users are alert to vibrations, they are likely to experience sporadic false alarms, he says.

    "You come armed with this template that leads you to be attentive to sensations that represent a cellphone vibrating," Janata says. "And it leads you to over-incorporate non-vibratory sensations and attribute them to the idea that you're receiving a phone call."

    Alejandro Lleras, a sensation and perception professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, adds that learning to detect rings and vibrations is part of a perceptual learning process.

    "When we learn to respond to a cellphone, we're setting perceptual filters so that we can pick out that (ring or vibration), even under noisy conditions," Lleras says. "As the filter is created, it is imperfect, and false alarms will occur. Random noise is interpreted as a real signal, when in fact, it isn't."

    Phantom cellphone vibrations also can be explained by neuroplasticity — the brain's ability to form new connections in response to changes in the environment.

    When cellphone users regularly experience sensations, such as vibrating, their brains become wired to those sensations, Janata says.

    "Neurological connections that have been used or formed by the sensation of vibrating are easily activated," he says. "They're over-solidified, and similar sensations are incorporated into that template. They become a habit of the brain."

    Cellphone company spokesmen, meanwhile, say they are not aware of any consumer complaints about phantom vibrations. Cellphones cannot sporadically vibrate on their own, says Mark Siegel of AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless.

    "Perhaps in the mind of the cellphone user only," he says.

    But Rob Whitehouse, vice president of communications at University Hospitals, insists the phantom vibrations he experiences each day are simply proof of how important constant communication is.

    "It's some psychological expression of my need to always be connected," he says. "It's like when e-mail first came out, and we constantly checked our inboxes, because getting a new message was so exciting.

    "I like that better than 'I'm crazy,' anyway."
    10-30-08 06:49 PM
  7. jm2hill's Avatar
    I believe bb's vibrate once you haven't looked at them for 15 mins just so you look at them more its all a conspiracy to get you more addicted
    10-30-08 06:52 PM
  8. Blowfish's Avatar
    Lol I get these too. I feel the vibrations coming from my pocket and my berry is sitting watching TV or something. I just assumed that my spider sense was tingling!
    I also hear the message tone at times too!

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    10-31-08 07:00 AM
  9. ecooper11's Avatar
    I get this all the time. I think I'm going insane.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    10-31-08 07:16 AM
  10. arose4me7305's Avatar
    So atleast we all know we're NOT ALONE!!!!


    It makes me feel better...... hehe
    10-31-08 04:01 PM
  11. skyjackal's Avatar
    I've experienced this a couple of times as well. Hmmm. We're not all crazy. Are we?
    10-31-08 05:26 PM
  12. gargaveli's Avatar
    Nah! We are addicted!
    10-31-08 07:15 PM
  13. alan8385's Avatar
    happens ALL the time! at first I thought I was nuts, then I realized i just can't go 5 mins without checking the dang thing!
    10-31-08 10:19 PM
  14. supafreak2000's Avatar
    I feel them too

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-01-08 05:57 AM
  15. Disturbed_Angel's Avatar
    Most of the time, I put my BB in the cup holder when I am in my car, and yet, I will still feel it in my left pocket, vibrating. Drives me nuts.
    11-01-08 06:29 AM
  16. arose4me7305's Avatar
    I believe the BB longs to be held by it's owner so it vibrates.

    Hahahaha! I think it may be something RIM did to the devices... like someone else said on here... to keep us all addicted! It's like it's yelling, "LOOK AT ME, DAMN IT!" or something.
    11-01-08 07:26 AM
  17. cella's Avatar
    This is just what I needed to know because I swear I feel/hear my bb going off when I am really to busy at work to "pay attention" to it. Can we say "addicted"! LOL

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-01-08 07:42 AM
  18. ItnStln's Avatar
    I feel the same thing ALL THE TIME
    11-01-08 09:53 AM
  19. asp13's Avatar
    I get them all the time, lately I even felt them without my berry even being in my pocket
    11-01-08 12:21 PM
  20. amazinglygraceless's Avatar
    Never has happened to me. And I truly doubt this even a real
    phenomena. Just imagination.
    11-01-08 03:52 PM
  21. fla030's Avatar
    This happens to me too. It used to happen when I had a nextel. I would hear the chirping of being keyed up.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-01-08 06:02 PM
  22. greg24's Avatar
    all the time when im lying in bed... i swear it vibrates
    11-01-08 09:13 PM
  23. neonwheel's Avatar
    Happens to me all the time at work, it stinks cause usually I'm terribly bored & I get super excited to get a message. & once I finally get a minute to check, it's nothing boo

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-01-08 09:25 PM
  24. Helstar's Avatar
    I get it drives me crazy, the best is when you do not even have your phone with you. Gotta love going crazy
    11-02-08 01:01 AM
  25. dukes011's Avatar
    I feel them all the time, and it drives my CRAZY when I look at my phone and don't have anything new. These phantom vibes drive my crazy!!

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-03-08 08:29 PM
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