It has become the modern substitute of glancing at your watch—the furtive(偷偷的)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 easily affected by other people． A University of Michigan team say people are twice as likely to pull out their phones to check their messages or emails 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 ‘consistent’ with the daily lives of women． 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 recorded their cellphone use at 1 0-second intervals． “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．You may see others checking their incoming messages and be encouraged to check your own．’’ 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 clue，the researchers said，adding that this behavior was often repeated． Cell phones create an alternative way for one’s attention and may both promote and interrupt ongoing social activities，the researchers wrote． Kruger believes this pattern could be related to the effects of social acceptance and rejection．If one person in a pair engages in another conversation through their phone，his or her companion may feel rejected．That companion then might be forced to connect with others from outside so as not to feel left out． 小题1:People’s strong desire to check their messages partly results from ___________．
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