The Phantom Phone Phenomenaby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 16 Oct 2007 10:41 AM Have you ever been somewhere when you cell phone vibrated for an important call. You reach down to you hip to answer the call, or at least to check who is calling, only to find out that you aren't actually wearing your phone? That you left your phone back at home, or on the dresser, or in the car. And the phone was never even ringing. If something like this has happened to you, well you are in the majority of cell phone users. It seems that our brains have adapted quite nicely to that blackberry, to the point where we are actually experiencing a phenomena that scientists compare to a phantom limb experience. In the phantom limb phenomena, people who have had limbs amputated do to injury or disease still feel as through the limb is present. It seems that our brains, in some cases, feel that the cell phone is a sort of natural limb. Why does this happen? Scientists have come up with a theory. They say that since we are social creatures, we have adapted to the anticipation of being social through the use of our phones. So we often feel the phone vibrating or have the sensation that it is part of us, even when it is not. Some people can experience the phantom phone phenomena several times a day, while others experience it only infrequently. I am waiting for the studies to be conducted to find a link between the amount of time a person uses a cell phone to the reported cases of the phantom phone phenomena. So what should you do if you experience this for yourself? Well don't panic. You can try relocating the phone to a different area of your body, such as a shirt pocket instead of a hip. You can also attempt to decrease the amount of time that you wear your cell phone. And if you can't bear to do that? Well, eventually technology may discover who to implant the devices permanently. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles E-Mail Crisis! What to Do When... Internet Kids: Too Much Time Online? Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantcomputers tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags cell phones, iphone, phantom, technology Discuss this article
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