Phantom Calls, Texts? Doctor's Explain 'Ringxiety'

A recent study attempted to explain the strange phenomenon of hearing phantom calls and texts. Commonly called as "ringxiety," psychologists believe that people who are insecure with their relationships are more like to experience this strange phenomenon.

Phantom signals occur when you hear a phone but it hasn't actually rung, reports Daily Mail UK. This also happens when you feel the vibrations of your devices when there are notifications just to find out there are none. Researchers from the University of Michigan evaluated these occurrences finding that those individuals who show high levels of attachment anxiety in their relationships are more likely to experience phantom notifications.

This is the latest disorder to affect the generation addicted to technology, reports Telegraph UK. The study was published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking.

To examine the phenomenon, Dr. Daniel Kruger and Jaikob Djerf of the University of Michigan compared the frequency phantom ringing and notifications among 411 undergraduate students who had either attachment anxiety or attachment avoidance. Attachment anxiety refers to feelings of being abandoned or having feelings not being reciprocated. Attachment avoidance, on the other hand, is keeping a distance from partners or relationships.

The researchers prompted them with questions on their experiences with "phantom vibrations or phantom ringing." They also asked them the frequency of these occurrences and the conditions which they are typically in when they experience the phenomenon. More so, researchers also recorded the different types of mobile phones the participants used.

The survey revealed that phantom vibrations are the most common type of notification with more than 75 percent of the group reporting the phenomenon, according to Daily Mail. Half of them, on the other hand, reported that they heard ringing.

Researchers contacted cell phone manufacturers to check any malfunctions or human errors. However, they have none.

"Mobile cell phone users have reported experiencing ringing and/or vibrations associated with incoming calls and messages, only to find that no call or message had actually registered," Dr. Kruger said. "Phantom ringing and phantom notifications in one sample were significantly predicted by attachment anxiety."

Researchers concluded that these phantom notifications are indications of human signal issue that may be influenced by life experiences, expectations and physiological conditions, reports Daily Mail.

The researchers admit that the sample size of the study is too small to confirm the findings. However, with the result of the survey, they believe that phantom ringing and phantom notifications are significantly linked to attachment anxiety.

There is already a growing awareness that "ringxiety" may lead to both immediate and long-term negative health effects that include headaches, stress and sleep disturbances, said Dr. Brenda Wiederhold, the journal's editor in chief.

To know more about attachment anxiety, check out the video below: