Original article (in Croatian) was published on 12/4/2024; Author: Anja Vladisavljević
A video allegedly showing a homemade experiment has been circulating online, fueling unverified claims and speculations about the potential dangers of smartphones.
A group of ants was moving chaotically around a smartphone when, just seconds before it rang, they formed a circle and began to follow its edge. This scene is from a short video that has been circulating among domestic Facebook users and has gone viral for almost a decade.
The video’s caption, shared on Facebook on April 9, 2024, reads: “A very simple experiment shows ants displaying disturbed movement patterns after just three minutes, or even seconds, next to a smartphone. Normal behavior resumes many hours after the device is turned off” (archived here and here).
The Facebook user did not provide essential details that would aid in understanding the phenomenon, such as the location and timing of the “experiment,” who conducted it, and its purpose. The tone of the post suggests that this “experiment” aims to demonstrate the harmful effects of cell phone radiation. Additionally, the video is only 22 seconds long, which is insufficient to confirm that the ants began moving in that manner after three minutes of exposure to the mobile device or that their behavior returned to normal many hours after the device was turned off.
The Phenomenon Could Be an “Ant Circle of Death”
The footage of the ants has been circulating since at least 2015. Back then, a YouTube user under the name ViralVideoLab published the same video and added the following description: “This video was filmed August 30th, 2015 on my front porch. An iphone was placed in the center of approximately 300 ants. No animals were injured in the experimet. When the smartphone starts to ring because of an incoming call, the ants suddenly start circling around the phone. i don´t know the reason why the ants controlled by the smartphone. i also don´t know if a smartphone is able to cause injury because of electromagnetic radiation. Can a smartphone cause injury to a human?”
Even at the time, both international (1, 2, 3) and domestic (1, 2) media were intrigued by the “mysterious” movement of the ants. Additionally, there were arguments suggesting that the video might not be authentic. According to the fact-checking website Snopes, some dark blobs (i.e., ants) in the video appear to pass through each other as they orbit the iPhone. “While the ability to pass through solid mass is not a characteristic common to real ants, it is possible with digitally created creatures,” Snopes noted. The same website also pointed out that ViralVideoLab, the source of the video, has produced other scientifically dubious videos such as “How to Make a Paper Airplane Fly Forever” and “How to Make Small Things Levitate with Your Car.“
Additionally, some entomologists (biologists who study insects) have expressed similar doubts. Entomologist Phil Torres told American Business Insider that the video was likely fabricated. “Not that ants aren’t capable being tricked into doing amazing, fascinating behaviors but something about their movement in general doesn’t seem quite ant-like to me. I could be very wrong though, just would need to know more about where it was filmed and if swarming ant species would be found there,” he stated in September 2015.
In addition to questioning the video’s authenticity, scientists cited by Snopes are skeptical about the “mysterious” movement of the ants and whether it is triggered by the proximity of the mobile device. While some acknowledge the possibility, noting that “many ants use magnetism to orient themselves,” most maintain that ants are known to exhibit such behavior even in the absence of mobile phones.
Simon Robson, an Australian social insect researcher at James Cook University in Queensland, explained that the behavior observed in the video is likely just a case of ants demonstrating their natural inclination to follow one another: “There are many ants that actually start forming in a circle without the phone (…) It’s an unavoidable consequence of their communication systems. Having the ants together like that, the shape of the phone may have something to do with it and the vibration might get them a bit more excited, but a lot of ants will do it even without the phone.”
In 2015, it was suggested that the behavior seen in the video might be an example of an “ant mill” or “ant circle of death.” This phenomenon occurs when a group of blind army ants becomes separated from the main hunting group, loses the pheromone trail used for navigation, and starts following each other. The ants then form a large, continuously revolving circle, marching until they eventually die from exhaustion. In addition to Snopes, this theory was supported by scientists who spoke to AFP’s fact-checking service last year. This discussion resurfaced as theories began to spread about certain species of animals moving in circles due to influences like 5G technology, chemtrails, or electromagnetic waves.
“The phenomenon of the ‘ant circle of death’ is well-documented and not a new discovery. It was described in a 1944 paper published by the American Museum of Natural History. A search on YouTube for ‘ant mill‘ yields numerous videos predating the introduction of 5G technology,” AFP noted.
The Pitfalls of “Simple Experiments”
“Suggestions for documenting the authenticity of the video include repeating the same experiment with different ants, or moving the iPhone around to see if the ants react and start circling in the opposite direction,” Snopes concluded in its analysis.
Indeed, even simple scientific experiments, such as those suitable for school-age students, must adhere to a specific methodology. The subjects being studied, whether animal or plant groups, should be exposed to identical conditions, with the only difference being one variable. In this scenario, one group of ants would be near the mobile device, and another group would not. Additionally, it is crucial to repeat the experiment multiple times. The more often the experiment is conducted with consistent results, the more reliable those results are likely to be. However, in the case of the ants circling around the mobile phone, we have not found any recent videos replicating this exact experiment online.
In November last year, a similar situation occurred. A video from a high school experiment was shared on social networks, demonstrating that seeds germinated in a box with a Wi-Fi router turned off, while they failed to germinate in a box where the router was turned on. The video aimed to highlight the alleged harmfulness of wireless internet. However, scientists pointed out several flaws in the experiment, including the fact that it was not repeated.
As we noted previously, while citizens have every right to question the extent and impact of technology on the environment and human life, it is important to approach information and claims that lack scientific validation with caution. In the instance mentioned, a video depicting a purported homemade experiment was utilized to disseminate unverified claims and speculations about the harmfulness of smartphones. If the video is authentic, it is highly probable that the ants formed a “circle of death” around the smartphone, a natural phenomenon that has been recognized for decades.
