Read the full article at Reuters.

(Reuters Health) - Did your date check his email just as you were about to deliver a punch line? Did your friend reply to a text while you were describing your boss’ broadside? Is your child so engrossed in whatever she’s doing on her iPhone that you must ask her multiple times to please pass the salt?

And do you find yourself incapable of controlling an incessant urge to look at your smart phone or other electronic device?

You’ve got company.

Nearly nine out of 10 Americans report being so tethered to their digital gadgets that they constantly or often check their email, texts and social media accounts, a new poll shows.

Psychologist Ethan Kross, a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said in a phone interview that the old adage, “out of sight, out of mind,” fits mobile technology well.

“If the cell phone is tempting you to check your email, take it out of your field of vision,” said Kross, who was not involved with the new study. “I wouldn’t underestimate the visual power of it.”

Smart phones “instantly activate the desire to check,” he said. Turn off sound notifications as well as vibrations and put the device into a desk drawer, or somewhere else you won’t see it, he suggested.

Though the pollsters only questioned adults, the double-edged sword of digital technology touches children as well. Almost half of surveyed parents reported that regulating their child’s screen time fueled a constant battle in their homes.