Silicon Valley parents are building a new kind of lifestyle for their families. While they work at software companies, startups, apps, hardware development firms, these adults are buried neck-deep in technology for most of the day. However, they¡¯re doing their best to make sure their kids see the opposite, that they¡¯re mostly insulated from screens anywhere in the house.
These techies are seeing firsthand just how addictive smartphones can be, and oft times how apps and games are designed to make you feel that way. After all, that¡¯s the kind of complaints the tech sector gets all the time. So to keep their children safe, these parents are keeping them from screens as much as possible at home.
A 2017 survey by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation found that, of the 907 Silicon Valley parents questioned, they all believe that technology can be a huge help. However, despite their faith in it, they also believe technology to have serious psychological and social impacts on children. Some claim bad screen habits could make children develop extremely short attention spans. That¡¯s yet to be clinically proven, but it¡¯s logical enough that it has parents worried.
Of course, the best way to balance this might be to try and balance screen time with outdoor time, but that in itself is harder to do than to say. After all, a techie¡¯s life usually involves long hours, commutes and tonnes of homework, which wouldn¡¯t really allow parents the ability to keep that close an eye on their kids. Instead, many resort to just limiting, or outright banning smart devices in the home.
In fact, this isn¡¯t that strange of a tactic either. Many tech biggies, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates have made public comments describing just how much they limit their kids¡¯ screen time, In fact, Gates and his wife had even refused to give their children smartphones until their teen years. Even Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in a 2011 interview, revealed he prohibited the kids from using the then-new iPad.
The especially nefarious detail here is that tech companies are aware of just how easily-swayed children are. Get a child or teen hooked to your app, and you most likely have a user locked in for the next five years. So the race is on to be the shiniest, most attractive, and most addictive for kids. It¡¯s no different from fast food chains advertising meals with free toys, and it¡¯s a tactic that works.
ALSO READ:?Bill Gates Didn¡¯t Allow His Kids To Have Phones Until They Were 14, And Never Apple Products