Cinema
Young cinema goers are keen to use their phones during a film (Reuters)

The majority of young US cinema-goers think they should be allowed to use their mobile phones in cinemas.

A poll carried out by the Hollywood Reporter represents bad news for film fans who find glowing phone screens in the cinema an annoyance.

Of 750 people aged 13 to 49 surveyed, nearly half said they would be interested in going to a cinema that allowed texting and web surfing.

The survey revealed that 55 percent of respondents had sent a text message from their cinema seats, while 27 percent had used their phone to visit Facebook during a film.

Around a quarter of Facebook users claimed to have posted from the cinema about what they were watching, while 21 percent of Twitter users have tweeted about a film from the cinema.

A spokesman for market research firm Penn Schoen Berland told the Reporter: "Millennials [the Facebook generation] want their public moviegoing experience to replicate their own private media experiences.

"Having dedicated social-media-friendly seats, or even entire theatres, can make the moviegoing experience more relevant and enjoyable for them."

While the survey paints an interesting picture of the future of cinemas, some cinemas, such as the Alamo Drafthouse in Texas, remain set in their ways.

The Drafthouse became an internet sensation in 2011 when a disgruntled customer left an angry answerphone message after being asked to leave for repeatedly using her phone.