While it's no "Phantom of the Toll Booth," phantom vibrations are being felt in the twin cities. The vibrations are echoes of those signaling incoming communication on pocket phones. Lori Osborne is a mental health clinician at Advocate-BroMenn Medical Center. She says if you're expecting an incoming message, and wear clothes, you may be subject to phantom vibrations:
"There's receptors in the skin that detect any type of sensation, including vibrations. Those same receptors could be activated by clothes rubbing on your skin, keys in your pocket, so, if you combine anticipation that you're gonna get a text with receptors sensing the movement of your body, you have a greater chance of misinterpreting them as vibrations." Osborne says the more anxious people are over calls or messages, the more susceptible they are to the phenomenon. She says people who derive a great deal of satisfaction from virtual socializing are also more likely to 'feel' the vibrations.