The New York Times journalist Nick Bilton once asked the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, the following question during an interview: ‘It seems that your kids are crazy about the iPad, right?’ He got the following, unexpected answer: ‘They don’t use them. We limit the amount of time their allowed to use iPads at home.’
So it seems that the guy who made such a huge contribution to technological development knows more than most people do about its inherent dangers. There’s certainly something to think about here.
Bilton was stunned. He’d somehow imagined that Jobs’ home was filled with gigantic touch screens everywhere, and that they handed out free iPads as if they were candy. But that was far from the truth.
In fact, it seems that a majority of heads of technology companies and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley place limits on the amount of time their children spend in front of computer screens, be it on a desktop, smartphone or a tablet. Within Jobs’ family, there was even a ban on using devices at night and at weekends.
All this might seem strange. But it seems that these chiefs of giant technology companies know something we don’t.
Chris Anderson, former editor of WIRED magazine and now CEO of 3D Robotics, also imposes restrictions on using gadgets at home. He even configured his family’s devices so that they couldn’t be used for more than a couple of hours a day.
’My kids accuse me and my wife of worrying too much about the influence of technology. They complain that none of their friends are banned from using devices’, he says.
Anderson has five children aged six to 17, and all of them have to obey the rules.
’It’s because I see danger in obsessive uses of the internet. I remember the problems I encountered with this myself, and I don’t want the same thing to happen to my kids’, he explains.
By ’danger’, Anderson has in mind harmful content and the possibility of young people becoming dependent on new technology in the same way many adults already have.
Some technology chiefs go even further. Alex Constantinople, CEO of the OutCast Agency, says that her five-year-old son is not allowed to play on any devices other than at the weekend. Her other two children, who are 10 and 13, can use tablets and computers at home for no more than 30 minutes a day.
Evan Williams, founder of both Blogger and Twitter, says that similar restrictions apply to his two sons. They have hundreds of books at home, and the kids can read as many as they want. But they can only use tablets and smartphones for one hour a day.
Research has shown that up to the age of ten, children are highly receptive to new technology, and can easily become dependent on it. So it seems that Steve Jobs was right; it’s recommended that children shouldn’t use tablets for more than half an hour a day, and smartphones for no more than two hours. For 10- to 14-year-olds, it’s OK to use personal computers, but only for doing schoolwork.
This habit of placing restrictions on technology is becoming more and more popular in the American househould. Some parents ban their kids from using social networks. It means they don’t have to worry about what their children post online — after all, reckless statements might have unfortunate consequences in later life.
Researchers recommend that restrictions on technology use be removed at 14. Although Anderson still doesn’t allow his 16-year-old to use devices (even a television) in his bedroom. Similarly, Dick Costolo, former CEO of Twitter, allows his teenage children to use them only in the living room and not in their bedrooms.
What do all these kids do instead? The author of a biography of Steve Jobs explains that the Apple founder was able to replace the potential obsession with his products among his offspring with communication. He used to talk about books with them, discuss history, and all kinds of other subjects as well. Apparently, none of his children ever felt the desire to check their iPhone or iPad during this family time.
In this way, Jobs’ children never became dependent on technology in the way you might have expected. Can you say the same thing about yourself?
Source : NyTimes
