I found it really scary. It think it is horrible to have that every night. I used to do the same thing. However, I found that the only times I felt I needed to check, I was sleeping. So, being unsure about whether I am asleep is actually already a good indicator.
Yes, it was very scary. Maybe that is why I still remember it and the phone.
Maybe you have nicer stuff to dream about than phones. :-)
I dreamt about my phone. I sometimes suffer from false awakenings (thinking you have woken up, bit you are still dreaming). So, I thought that I had woken up and everything looked like normal. Then I got my phone to check the time and instead of the time, there was a weird cube swirling around on my phone. So, then I knew I was still dreaming.
Then I wanted to wake up, but I couldn’t, so I panicked and it became a nightmare where I suddenly saw a ghost in my room that was floating around with her head in a very unnatural position. Then she started screaming and I woke up. (But this is not the important part, the important part is that there was a phone in my dream.)
I think what happens with me is that I want to wake up and I can’t and then I panic and everything becomes scary. So, it is probably just that I want to wake up and I cannot.