-Upper-Intermediate

-Topic: Science & Technology

-Ten Vocabulary Words

[essential, remain, simplify, anxiety, sufferer, swear, trigger, uncover, via, phantom]

-http://www.headsupenglish.com/upper-intermediate/newslessons/ringxiety/ringxietyspeakingintermediate.pdf

Cellphones have become an essential item for most people. The phone lets you remain connected to friends and family, check e-mail and the Internet, and listen to music or watch TV just about anywhere. The invention has simplified our lives in many ways. But it has also made our lives more complicated, too. Some experts wonder if we are too dependent on our phones.

A recent phenomenon connected with cellphones is a feeling of anxiety. Here's an example: You stand in a crowded place, hear someone's phone ring, and reach for yours, too. Experts and the media are calling this "ringxiety." Some people think they hear the phone while in the shower, or shaving. Others often check their phones while watching TV, or walking down the street.

A doctoral student named David Laramie came up with the word. He's also a sufferer of ringxiety. He swears that TV advertisements, songs on the radio, even running water can trigger his ringxiety. Many other people have reported similar experiences, either imagining the ringing sound, or feeling their phone vibrating.

A look at Internet discussion boards will uncover debates on the same topic. Most visitors to the discussion boards point out that ringxiety is a result of the modern world. There are a few people, though, who see it as mind control via TV and radio broadcasts.

Although ringxiety is not an officially recognized illness, there is some truth behind the idea. Scientists explain that the human ear is very sensitive to frequencies between 1,000 and 6,000 hertz. The tones of cellphones fall within this range. Unfortunately, many other sounds do, too. As a result, phantom rings are common.