ERR experiment finds smartphone pull among three public figures

ERR’s ETV television program Impulss asked footballer Ragnar Klavan and actors Helena Lotman and Tõru Kannimäe to complete a smartphone addiction test with a psychologist, examining whether their digital habits could indicate dependence.

Asked how often social media makes him restless, upset or irritated, Klavan said it sometimes annoyed him when his wife wanted to talk and he had to stop scrolling. Lotman said she had repeatedly failed to stick to an agreement with her husband to leave their phones in the hallway cupboard when they got home. They had been making the agreement for about five years, she said. Kannimäe said he sometimes remained on a device longer than planned because it was absorbing.

All three said digital devices played a significant role in their lives. Lotman and Klavan, both parents of school-age children, also see how the online world affects young people. In the previous week, Lotman’s average daily phone screen time was two and a half hours, Klavan’s was two hours and nine minutes, and 17-year-old Kannimäe’s was four hours and 45 minutes.

Kannimäe said he used his phone for messaging, calls, writing, work and school. Lotman said it sometimes felt as though her life consisted only of answering emails, adding that she had 7,434 unanswered messages. Klavan described a phone as “like a drug that is always in your pocket.”

After two tests comprising 28 questions, Klavan showed the strongest urge to use his smartphone, although the others were not far behind. He said work could become an excuse for always keeping his phone nearby, and that he hoped to reach a point where he did not have to be available to everyone all the time.

Lotman said she wanted to be in control of her phone use, rather than letting addictive apps decide for her. Kannimäe said he could manage a couple of days without a phone if he really wanted to.

Lotman said she sometimes switches to a basic phone because her two school-age children use basic phones, so they can follow her example as well as her words. But she finds it difficult to manage everyday tasks such as parking and bank transfers without a smartphone, and has always returned to using one.

The participants disagreed on whether the state should ban social media for young people. Klavan said he already limits his children’s screen time, using hourly limits. They can ask him to add 15 minutes or an hour, he said, and he can approve extra time.

Anyone interested can take a digital addiction test on the Peaasi.ee website.