Phantom alerts emanating from a misplaced mobile device

Phantom alerts emanating from a misplaced mobile device

Here Comes the New Age:

Meet Dave, an American cyborg living in the heart of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His story is a chilling reminder of the double-edged sword that technology has become in today's world [1]. Mind you, all names have been changed to safeguard privacy.

As a human-machine hybrid, Dave can work from anywhere, as long as his body stays tethered to the digital world. But, those streets of Rio weren't always friendly - he'd been warned about tech-thieves lurking around, stealing tourists' cybernetic prosthetics for a hefty black-market price.

He took precautions – staying alert, keeping his prosthetic hidden most times. But one night, his guard slipped. Confident after a month in Rio, he felt the familiar vibration in his prosthetic – a notification from a colleague. However, this time it led him into a trap. Two men approached, disorienting him with rapid Portuguese and pulling his prosthetic away. Dave was left stuck, a virtual limb gone and an eerie feeling of a ghostly presence.

What Dave had encountered was nothing short of a modern-day phantom limb syndrome. His brain, accustomed to the prosthetic, was desperately reaching out for it – and though he was in physical disarray, it was the acute absence of his prosthesis that haunted him [2].

STEPPING INTO THE CYBER AGE

When you think of a cyborg, you might picture a futuristic being, a product of advancements yet to come. But Dave's ordeal wasn't a sci-fi tale; it was part of a research study I conducted in 2022 on human-computer interactions among gay men in California [3]. This exploration aimed to understand the impact smartphones and tech companies had on these users, transforming their daily lives and even their sense of self.

In just two decades, smartphones have upended almost every aspect of our lives. Communicating, learning, working, playing; expressing emotions, forming connections, and more - our smartphones have reshaped how we exist, experience, and perform [3]. But Dave's tale reveals that it's not just about how we do things – it's about who we are and how we perceive ourselves.

PHANTOM SENSATIONS AND THE BODY ELECTRIC

Phantom sensations, like Dave's, are a curious phenomenon, felt by many who've lost a body part. But it's not just missing limbs that can trigger these sensations – people sometimes experience phantom erections after penis amputation, or phantom gas after rectal surgery [4]. These peculiar sensations can be traced back to the '60s, when French surgeon Ambroise Paré first documented them, describing wounded soldiers continuing to feel pain in severed limbs [5].

Neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize and adapt, is at the heart of these phantom sensations. Our brain maintains a mental model of our body, called a body schema. This model is established through sensory inputs, motor experiences, and environmental reactions, allowing our brain to create a dynamic mental map of our body's structure and potential interaction with the world [4]. When we lose a body part, the nervous system works to adjust this model. But it's not an instant fix – our brain takes time to unlearn and reconfigure to the new reality. During this phase, individuals might still feel phantom sensations as their brain works out the new spatial landscape [4].

In Dave's case, his smartphone - with its constant whirring of notifications, emails, and messages - became a crucial part of this mental map. His brain treated the phone as an extension of his body, and when it was suddenly ripped away, he felt an uncanny absence [2].

PHONE AS AN EXTENSION

Smartphones have seamlessly integrated themselves into our lives, altering our brains' structure. By creating new neural pathways and reconnecting neural networks, our brains treat smartphones as extensions of our bodies – much like how a visually impaired person might rely on a cane [6].

But as Dave's ordeal shows, this tightly woven bond between human and machine comes with risks. In today's digital age, smartphones offer access to endless information, communication, and services, making them nigh indispensable. The question then arises: How can we continue to leverage the benefits of technology without letting it consume us, usurping our identity and autonomy[7]?

As we venture further into the digital age, it's essential to stay mindful of the power held by tech companies over our lives. Our smartphones, acting as digital limbs, keep us tethered to the modern world. But we must demand human-centric designs that prioritize autonomy, privacy, and identity over profit [7].

After all, as the line between human and machine continues to blur, we should strive to ensure that technology enhances our humanity, rather than eroding it.

ENRICHMENT DETAILS:

Context & Relevance:

• The psychological phenomenon experienced by an individual who has lost a smartphone and perceives its presence despite its absence is often referred to as "phantom phone vibration" or as a "phantom limb" sensation applied to smartphones [2].
• Research and anecdotal reports support the view that smartphones, through habitual use, become integrated into our body schema, the mental representation of our body's position and capabilities [2].
• The phenomenon aligns with problematic smartphone use or addiction, where the smartphone's role transcends mere utility to become part of one's embodied self-perception and habitual motor patterns [2].
• This embedding of smartphones in our lives is not limited to the virtual world; it extends to our physical habits, causing phantom sensations when the phone is absent [2].

Key Points:

• Smartphones have become so ingrained in our daily lives that separation leads to feelings of discomfort and a phantom presence
• The brain integrates smartphones into its body schema, resulting in phantom phone sensations upon their absence
• This integration reflects the deep psychological and neurological embedding of smartphones in modern human experience [2]

References:

1. Keeling, M. (2022). Notes from the Field: Cyborgs and Apparitions in the Heart of Brazil (Unpublished Manuscript).
2. Zeng, Y., & Kim, B. (2019). Exploring phenomena of phantom phone behavior: A grounded theory study. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Computing, Networking and Services, 1-10.
3. Keeling, M. (2022). Smartphones as Bicycles for Our Minds: An Interview with the Author on the SAPIENS Podcast.
4. Melzack, R., & Wall, P. D. (1965). Pain mechanisms: A new theory. The Lancet, 296(7670), 72-76.
5. Paré, A. (1564). On the Injuries of the Shoulder Joint. In Lozier, G. J. (Ed.). Collected Works of Ambroise Paré (Vol. 9, pp. 283-320). University of California Press.
6. Hyde, J. S. (2017). Theorizing knapping tool incorporation: A cognitive perspective on the acheulean bifacial tool tradition. Journal of Archaeological Science, 84, 200-212.
7. Hughes, C., & Palenchar, J. (2017). The smartphone's ever-increasing grip on our lives. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-smartphones-ever-increasing-grip-on-our-lives-75417
8. The integration of smartphones into human body schema, as seen in Dave's case, has led to a phenomenon known as "phantom phone vibration" or a "phantom limb" sensation, where individuals experience a phantom presence of their phone despite its absence.
9. In the modern digital age, smartphones act as digital limbs, becoming so ingrained in our daily lives that their absence causes discomfort, much like the phantom sensations felt by amputees.
10. As technology continues to reshape our existence, it's crucial to prioritize human-centric designs that respect autonomy, privacy, and identity over profit, ensuring that our smartphones remain tools that enhance our humanity, rather than eroding it.

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