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The phantom cellphone

ELLEN SIMON

Associated Press

Latest comment posted at 6:12 PM EDT 11/10/07

BlackBerry junkies report feeling vibrations when there are none ...Read the full article

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  1. Sam Snead from Canada writes: Interesting story with a trivial explanation.

    Here's one: most people before they leave their house or go to bed have an urge to use the bathroom .... are people addicted to their ...??
  2. Just trying to make sense of it all from Canada writes: I thought I was the only one this happens to! I feel this vibrating in my pocket, and I want to get it out before it starts ringing and then I realize it's plugged into the lighter socket!
  3. John L. Murlowe from Colony of Vancouver Island, Canada writes:
    I get this strange sensation that someone is trying to text me and I don't even have a Blackberry.
  4. Gabriel Hall from Calgary, Canada writes: Old hat. This has been a running topic/joke in the tech community for years. Get with the times G&M!
  5. Kevin Desmoulin from TO, Canada writes: Yes I used to get that with a pager, recently with a BlackBerry, I mean you could be using it and getting that feeling, It leaves me feeling too attached to work. I think we are getting more "emotionally" attached to our tech and com devices, Like I lose my Cell or flash drives I am wondering if I got back up. feel a little loss at first tend recover.
  6. Craig Cooper from toronto, writes: It's not just the crackberries that do it.
  7. A Mitchell from Canada writes: If you feel it buzz in bed, ever thought that maybe its the person next to you......... fill in the blanks yourself
  8. G N from Toronto, Canada writes: This isn't a high-tech issue. I've been having sensations that my sunglasses are propped on top of my head for years - hours after they are safely stowed away in their case. Sense-memory and wish fufillment - it's all in our heads.
  9. Vladimir Kolcza from Toronto, Canada writes: This is very old... Having said that and as someone who earns a very comfortable living in the IT sector, I am surprised that Canada - the birthplace of Marshal McLuhan - is among the only countries that I can name which is not funding any research into the societal effects of new technologies. Despite my line of work and occupation, I (and my wife and kids) am among the few that I know who can actually venture beyond my property line without a cellphone or blackberry in my pocket. That people feel they must remain "connected" and "contactable" speaks volumes about the pumped-up and unhealthy levels of self-esteem people "enjoy". Trust me, if you are so important/essential that people expect you to be "contactable" all the time, you would be AVOIDING taking the cellphone and blackberry with you wherever you go. Funny, really, how infrequently people look into the mirror to see what they are becoming. Then, when they do, it's usually too late. Such are the perils of remaining "unconscious". To avoid them remaining unconscious, I recommended to my kids that they aim for overseas post-secondary educational institutions less committed to keeping overinflated egos adrift with regular infusions of self-esteem concentrates. I advised my kids to "go for broke! Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, the Sorbonne...credentials from THOSE will pay for themselves 10 times over." My kids took my advice and never regretted it. These genuinely world-class educational institutions do not "pump up the marks" as Canadian institutions are kniown to do. Or as my son pointed out: "I don't have to field any halfassed questions from insecure Canadian interviewers about WHAT I know and can do when they see the Oxford Seal on my diplomas." My son paid off his $120K in debt within three years of graduating Oxford. I don't think you could do that in canada with a Canadian credential. Canadian employers know about Canadian credentials these days.
  10. Anthony N from Toronto, Canada writes: Can anyone say "Crackberry", Some of these guys who carry these things around in the subway and practically everywhere they go are pretty darn pathetic. I once heard this story about a guy who got agressive because a female colleague made a comment about his blackberry. Talk about little boys and their toys, it hilartious to watch these 50 something managers having to accept this technological torture of having their company force them to carry this device around because you must be more connected to your work while at the same disconnecting from the things and relationships that really matter. It's ridiculous to see these geeks typing away at these little buttons to get a quick email in the morning while still on the subway 7 in the morning. Don't they realise that all of a sudden technology has taken over and they are no longer in control and there is no boundaries. Whoever said Technology would make things easier, hah! I once heard one of my managers on his Mediterranean cruise had his blackberry on so that people can stay connected to him from the office, what's the use taking a vacation? Forget phantom vibrations, this is the new form of crack for Corporate Canada. Just so you know I'm in my late twenties and totally love technology but come on guys, this is ridiculous.
  11. M Liggins from Perth, Canada writes: I really wonder if it is the organizations these people work for that are demanding they stay connected, or if it is more likely deep seated employment insecurity, misplaced ego gratification or just plain stupidity.

    No one is that important, nothing needs to be dealt with in the next 30 seconds. We are becoming a culture of "instant" results, at the price of defining the true problem, and this, is just another symptom of a truly sick society.

    For all of the following ad hominems aimed at this post, I own one and use it, but only as neede, not in an addictive manner....
  12. B G from New York, Canada writes: Mr Kolcza, perhaps you should attach a compass to your hip so you can better follow the conversation. Your egotistical kids have nothing to do with this article.
  13. Paul Malin from Toronto, Canada writes: Mundane reason: You are subconsciously thinking about your phone and this causes the firing of neurons involved in a typical phone ringing scenario (ie. sensation of vibration). One left field reason this might happen is: A person was thinking about calling you. Almost did call you and so you approach a moment where in an alternate universe you received a call and as you pass that moment you feel a phantom ring.
  14. h w from Waterloo, Canada writes: Anyone that allows themselves to be put willingly on this virtual leash is an idiot! I have a cellphone, and when I don't want to be disturbed, I turn it off. Most of these Blackberry crackheads are deluding themselves into a false sense of self importance, because they (or their employers) waste hundreds of dollars per month so they won't be out of touch...
  15. Thumb Sucker from Toronto, Canada writes: I left my phone at home today for the first time in about 9 months, I have checked my pockets about 10 times since 7am thinking that it's vibrating. Interesting time to publish this article.

    ...hold on I got something shaking in my pocket...

    Darn, just my leg tumor.
  16. Vladimir Kolcza from Toronto, Canada writes: Hello B G from New York, Canada:

    BTW, there is no New York in Canada, B G. Also, you wrote that "...perhaps you should attach a compass to your hip so you can better follow the conversation. Your egotistical kids have nothing to do with this article." My "egotistical" kids" Hello? Why do you describe my kids as egotistical?, pal? I am the one who touted their accomplishments. Anyway, since your "also-ran" kids are likely being managed by my "egotistical" kids with their university credentials from Harvard, Oxford, Oxfor and Yale (in order of accomplishment).

    B G, I'm sure the McEducation you received or that you bought your kids will serve them well if they do as their betters tell them to do. Not to worry, B G. My kids are nothing if not "fair" and "kind". Their mother and I BOTH ensured that they grew up to be NOTHING like you and yours.
  17. Thumb Sucker from Toronto, Canada writes: My kids are so smart that NASA hooked one of them up to a big computer but the big computer couldn't handle it and the computer blew up!
  18. True Canadian from Hamilton, Canada writes: Vladimir Kolcza from Toronto, Canada: Maybe you all super high intellectuals should move to Britain! Why stay in a country where the Universities give high marks to their students??

    But you do have some good points at the start of your comment, then you started to brag about your kids!!
  19. Phillip Patriotic from Homeandhearth, Canada writes: When I discussed this article with a colleague this morning, he identified with it so much that he made a public declaration that his Blackberry willl forever be turned off at 6pm. I'm going to call him at 6:01 tonight to check....

    On another note - Vladimir, it seems reasonable that, judging from your son's remarks re. Canadian education and employment, your children are neither "fair" nor "kind" .

    It would also be reasonable to assume that, based on the rest of your post (and subsequent response), the children probably got their "fair" and "kind" approach from you and your wife.
  20. B G from New York, Canada writes: True Canadian - my sentiments exactly...I was with Vlad until he started off on his kids. He derides others for feeling "trumped-up self esteem" from owning and displaying their technological devices...yet his kids (from his own statements) clearly feel the name of the institution printed on their degrees makes them superior.

    I'm 30 and have no kids (yet)...but you should have raised yours to be like me. I hate cellphones, blackberries, etc. and have no interest in being "connected" all the time - thus, I share the same value that you hold in such high esteem. I paid off the tiny debt from my "McEducation" in far less than a year and currently sit in the top 1% of income earners in Canada. I am also kind and fair, except when I have to listen to someone going off on a boring, "holier-than-thou" rant about his kids. Hopefully your grandchildren won't have such a chip on their shoulder as your kids obviously do.
  21. ashlynn mai from Canada writes: blackberry people are funny to watch,
  22. Darrin Duell from Winnipeg, Canada writes: Ok, I am amazed how much bitterness people have towards people who carry blackberries, you are only hurting yourselves by using this forum to spew hateful comments towards others...

    Blackberry it is a great tool, I use mine for business and for keeping in contact with my friends and loved ones. The connection with people who are important to me really enhances my relationships with them. Relationships are the spice of life my ladies and gentlemen.

    Having said that, I too have experienced the phantom vibration effect. I think this article is great, for pointing out this phonomenom. More study is needed here.

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