So, we made it through the first week.

By now I’m sure you’ve all been warned by your instructors not to text in class; but, maybe you don’t know why that can be an issue, other then the fact that it annoys your instructor and the people around you.

It’s pretty easy to just ignore your teacher’s warnings. But here are some reasons that your instructor might not have given you when asking you to put your phone away.

When You Shouldn’t Text

While I can’t say I don’t use my phone all the time—it currently doubles as my alarm clock—I’ve learned when enough is enough.

Obviously, being the one person texting in class is going to get you some nasty looks. It makes everyone focus on you and forget what’s going on in the class at that moment, thus ticking your instructor off and leading to your loss of friends in that class.

So if you need to keep your phone on, turn that sucker on vibrate or silent and either wait until the end of class to check your messages or just walk out of the room.

Sure, everyone is going to watch you leave, but at least no one will sneer at you for that ringtone you think is so awesome

Those Phantom Vibrations

Have you ever had your phone die on you and gotten paranoid that you’re missing important phone calls or text messages? Or what about those phantom vibrations when you think your phone is going off but it isn’t? Well, because we’re so obsessed with phones, there are now actual psychological conditions that explain these problems.

The first condition is called Nomophobia (No-Mobile-Phobia). As awkward as the name sounds, this is a condition which is attributed to strong anxiety-like symptoms a person experiences when their phone dies. A phobia that, according to SecurEnvoy, a company dedicated to keeping cellphone use as secure as possible, afflicts most of the population.

Those days where you think your phone is going off all the time can be explained by Ringxiety. Yes, it’s a real thing and, according to ScienceDaily, it happens often. It’s when you think you hear your ringtone, you think you feel your phone vibrate or even when you just check your phone a bunch of times to make sure you didn’t miss a call or text.

Now, the easiest way to overcome both these conditions is to simply go a few days without your phone every now and then, and you’ll be fine.

There’s no fun medications you’ll get put on, and there’s no need for any psychoanalysis.

So now we’ll face the second week together here at good ol’ NIU. Don’t be that person we all sneer at when your phone starts singing “I’m Sexy and I Know It.”