Do you own a mobile phone? Do you sometimes think there’s a call when actually there isn’t? If so, that might well be a Phantom Phone Sensation (PPS). Leading, perhaps, to the question :’What are the determinants of phantom phone sensations?’ These (fairly) ubiquitous phenomena have been formally investigated by a research team at the Media and Communication dept. at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Their study – said to be the first comprehensive overview of factors that influence the likelihood of experiencing phantom phone sensations – found that 83.5% (of those asked) had experienced them. And, further :-
“The results indicate that it might predominantly be the current situation which a person is in that promotes the experience of phantom phone sensations. In line with theoretical knowledge on the importance of social situations as influencing factors in everyday life, our results show that social factors are prevalent also for false perceptions such as phantom phone sensations.”
See: The phantom in my pocket: Determinants of phantom phone sensations in: Mobile Media & Communication, vol. 3 no. 3 pp. 293-316.