It could come as surprising for many to find out that two tech figures like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs did not totally ‘drown’ their children in the things that have impacted the world.
There are tech icons who raised their children on a rather strict environment where screen time was duly regulated.
These masters of their industry know well the potential harm technology can bring such as its addictive nature as interviews conducted with more of the Silicon Valley tech elite parents has shown.
Mental health issues such as loneliness and depression have been linked to long hours on social media among young teens, with the era of cyber-bullying and lifestyle flaunting on social media.
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In 2007, Bill Gates, the former CEO of Microsoft, implemented a cap on screen time when his daughter started developing an unhealthy attachment to a video game. He also didn't let his kids get cell phones until they turned 14.
Jobs, who was the CEO of Apple until his death in 2012, revealed in a 2011 New York Times interview that he prohibited his kids from using the newly-released iPad. "We limit how much technology our kids use at home," Jobs told reporter Nick Bilton.
The journalist who asked Steve Jobs reached out to Walter Isaacson, the author of “Steve Jobs,” who spent a lot of time at their home, to find out why Jobs was strict with his kids’ use of tech.
“Every evening Steve made a point of having dinner at the big long table in their kitchen, discussing books and history and a variety of things,” he said. “No one ever pulled out an iPad or computer. The kids did not seem addicted at all to devices.”
These tech heads do well to regulate their kids from the internet, also fully aware of stuff that goes down there, which can pollute their kids including pornography.
Some of these parents have attempted to deal with the situation by setting time and age limits for when their kids interact with tech, with most starting to allow their kids in at age 10.
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Children under 10 seem to be most susceptible to becoming addicted, so these parents draw the line at not allowing any gadgets during the week. On weekends, there are limits of 30 minutes to two hours on iPad and smartphone use. And 10- to 14-year-olds are allowed to use computers on school nights, but only for homework.
While some tech parents assign limits based on time, others are much stricter about what their children are allowed to do with screens.
Ali Partovi, a founder of iLike and adviser to Facebook, Dropbox and Zappos, said there should be a strong distinction between time spent “consuming,” like watching YouTube or playing video games, and time spent “creating” on screens.
“Just as I wouldn’t dream of limiting how much time a kid can spend with her paintbrushes, or playing her piano, or writing, I think it’s absurd to limit her time spent creating computer art, editing video, or computer programming,” he said.
Others said that outright bans could backfire and create a digital monster.
Share with us how you would as a parent let your child relate with technology.