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The new iPhone 11 Pro is triggering people’s trypophobia
Apple unveiled the new iPhone 11 Pro on Tuesday, and people with trypophobia are freaking out.
LOS ANGELES - Apple unveiled the new iPhone 11 Pro on Tuesday, and some people couldn’t help but focus on the new rear-camera design boasting three lenses, claiming it triggers their “trypophobia.”
“People who have it feel queasy when looking at surfaces that have small holes gathered close together,” according to Healthline. “For example, the head of a lotus seed pod or the body of a strawberry could trigger discomfort in someone with this phobia.”
Trypophobia isn’t recognized as an official medical diagnosis because it’s a relatively new concept — or at least having a term for the experience is new. The first known time the term was used was in a 2005 forum post, and though internet users who claim to have the phobia have since found each other in online spaces to commiserate and validate their shared fear, little scientific research has been done into what actually causes this reaction in some people.
Common triggers include things like lotus seed pods, honeycombs, coral, pomegranates or clusters of eyes like one might see in a close-up photo of an insect.
According to Dr. Geoff Cole, a vision scientist at the University of Essex, we all have trypophobia. “It’s just a matter of degree,” he told BBC News.
Symptoms range from heebie-jeebies and goosebumps on the mild end, to vomiting, shaking and panic attacks on the extreme end.