If has become the modern equivalent of glancing at your watch - the furtive look at a phone screen to check for new messages or have a quick look at Facebook. Researchers have now found why we often feel such a strong urge to glance at our handset. Using your mobile, they say, is contagious.
像以前人们总爱看表一样，现代人动不动就要偷偷拿出手机，看看有没有新短信或是社交网的更新内容。最近研究人员发现，使用手机具有传染性，因此我们总有翻看手机的冲动。

A University of Michigan team say people are twice as likely to pull out their phones to check their text messages or email if they're with someone who has just done the same. It also found that females were more likely to use their mobile than men because it was more 'integrated into the daily lives of women'.
来自密歇根大学的一个科研小组称，当周围有人用手机时，即便你没事也要检查手机短信或邮件的可能性会增加一倍。他们还发现，同男性相比，女性会更频繁地使用手机，因为她们更需要“融入到女性的日常生活圈”。

The team watched students in dining halls and coffee shops around campus , observing pairs of students sitting at tables for as long as 20 minutes and documented their cellphone use at 10-second intervals. 
这个小组的研究人员密切观察学生们在食堂、咖啡厅、校园周边等地的活动，他们观察着坐在桌子边成对的学生，以10秒间隔观察他们在20分钟内使用手机的情况。

'What we found most interesting was just how often people were using their mobile phones,'Dr Daniel Kruger, the study’s co-author, said. 'Every person we observed used his/her phone at least once while one woman was on hers about half of the time.  Individuals may see others checking their incoming messages and be prompted to check their own.'
丹尼尔克鲁格博士是本次研究的共同作者之一，他表示说：“我们从没想到人们会如此频繁地使用手机，这个的确很有意思。我们观察的每一个人，至少有一次在对方使用手机刚5秒时就开始看自己的手机。当有人看到别人收发短信时，他们也会不自觉地掏出手机。”

Overall, the students used their cellphones in an average of 24 percent, the researchers found. But they were significantly more likely to use their phones (39.5 percent) when their companion had just done so in the previous 10-second interval than without the social cue, the researchers said, adding that this behavior was often repeated.
研究者发现，一般情况下学生使用手机的频率是24%，但若旁边有同伴在未收到任何社交信号的情况下，在上一个10秒间隔用手机的话，那另外一人使用手机的频率则会大幅增加到39.5%。研究人员还表示，这种行为会多次重复。

'Cell phones create an alternative outlet for one’s attention and may both promote and interfere with live social interaction,' the researchers wrote.
他们在报告中写道：“手机为我们的生活打开了另一扇认识世界的门，对现实的社交活动起到了既推动又阻碍的矛盾作用。”

Kruger believes this pattern could be related to the effects of social inclusion and exclusion. If one person in a pair engages in an external conversation through their phone, his or her companion may feel excluded. That companion then might be compelled to connect with others externally so as not to feel left out.
克鲁格认为这种现象可能与社会融入和社会排斥这两种作用相关。如果两个人在一起，其中一个在打电话，说的是和同伴无关的内容，那么同伴就会感到自己被排斥了，为了自己不遭冷落，他就会强迫自己掏出手机与别人联络。

The researchers note that they might not observe the same results in a study of different demographics — for example, in older adults, who may not use cellphones as habitually.
研究人员还指出，对不同的人群观测结果也会不一样，比如说在老年人群体中，就不会出现习惯性使用手机的情况。

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