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.
像以前人們總愛看表一樣，現(xiàn)代人動(dòng)不動(dòng)就要偷偷拿出手機(jī)，看看有沒有新短信或是社交網(wǎng)的更新內(nèi)容。最近研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，使用手機(jī)具有傳染性，因此我們總有翻看手機(jī)的沖動(dòng)。

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'.
來自密歇根大學(xué)的一個(gè)科研小組稱，當(dāng)周圍有人用手機(jī)時(shí)，即便你沒事也要檢查手機(jī)短信或郵件的可能性會(huì)增加一倍。他們還發(fā)現(xiàn)，同男性相比，女性會(huì)更頻繁地使用手機(jī)，因?yàn)樗齻兏枰叭谌氲脚缘娜粘Ｉ钊Α薄?/p>

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. 
這個(gè)小組的研究人員密切觀察學(xué)生們?cè)谑程?、咖啡廳、校園周邊等地的活動(dòng)，他們觀察著坐在桌子邊成對(duì)的學(xué)生，以10秒間隔觀察他們?cè)?0分鐘內(nèi)使用手機(jī)的情況。

'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.'
丹尼爾克魯格博士是本次研究的共同作者之一，他表示說：“我們從沒想到人們會(huì)如此頻繁地使用手機(jī)，這個(gè)的確很有意思。我們觀察的每一個(gè)人，至少有一次在對(duì)方使用手機(jī)剛5秒時(shí)就開始看自己的手機(jī)。當(dāng)有人看到別人收發(fā)短信時(shí)，他們也會(huì)不自覺地掏出手機(jī)?！?/p>

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.
研究者發(fā)現(xiàn)，一般情況下學(xué)生使用手機(jī)的頻率是24%，但若旁邊有同伴在未收到任何社交信號(hào)的情況下，在上一個(gè)10秒間隔用手機(jī)的話，那另外一人使用手機(jī)的頻率則會(huì)大幅增加到39.5%。研究人員還表示，這種行為會(huì)多次重復(fù)。

'Cell phones create an alternative outlet for one’s attention and may both promote and interfere with live social interaction,' the researchers wrote.
他們?cè)趫?bào)告中寫道：“手機(jī)為我們的生活打開了另一扇認(rèn)識(shí)世界的門，對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)的社交活動(dòng)起到了既推動(dòng)又阻礙的矛盾作用。”

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.
克魯格認(rèn)為這種現(xiàn)象可能與社會(huì)融入和社會(huì)排斥這兩種作用相關(guān)。如果兩個(gè)人在一起，其中一個(gè)在打電話，說的是和同伴無關(guān)的內(nèi)容，那么同伴就會(huì)感到自己被排斥了，為了自己不遭冷落，他就會(huì)強(qiáng)迫自己掏出手機(jī)與別人聯(lián)絡(luò)。

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.
研究人員還指出，對(duì)不同的人群觀測(cè)結(jié)果也會(huì)不一樣，比如說在老年人群體中，就不會(huì)出現(xiàn)習(xí)慣性使用手機(jī)的情況。