A: checking your cell phone

STUDY FINDS CHECKING YOUR CELL PHONE IS CONTAGIOUS: New research finds that like yawning, checking your cell phone is a contagious behavior. To find this, researchers from the University of Michigan watched pairs of students in dining halls and coffee shops and monitored their cellphone use every ten-seconds for up to 20 minutes. Researchers say a person is twice as likely to pull out their phone to check for texts or emails if the person they are with has just done the same, and that females are more likely to do so than males. On average, the students used their cellphones 24-percent of the time intervals which they were monitored for. One researcher said, “Cell phones create an alternative outlet for one’s attention and may both promote and interfere with live social interaction.” (Daily Mail)