Ringxiety

Definition

The term ringxiety was first coined by psychologist David Laramie to describe the phantom feeling of a phone call in one's pocket.

Peter Tse, professor of psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth College, said phantom vibration rings may happen because cell phone users develop a “template” in their heads. “I have a template for my baby’s cry in my head, for example, and sometimes just by chance a random set of sounds will match it,” he said. “I will go to check, but the baby wasn’t crying. “ These templates of expectation are responsible for the feeling of a call or text message, even though one might be present. "The brain is constantly filtering out background information", Tse says, and "sometimes when a person is monitoring or searching for something important to them — such as a cell phone call or the sound of their own name — some of this background information is picked up and matched to a mental template".