Why Steve Jobs forbade his kids to actively use the iPad

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

When Apple was first born, Steve Jobs encouraged journalists who write well about his company in every possible way, or, conversely, explained why they were wrong by writing an article. New York Times journalist Nick Bilton said what struck him in 2010, during a meeting with the head of Apple. After Jobs stopped lynching him for writing about the iPad's flaws, he told him one thing that stuck in his memory forever.

“Your kids should love the iPad,” Nick said then, trying to change the subject. At that time, the company's first tablets were just hitting store shelves. “They don't use it,” Steve replied. "We're limiting the number of modern devices kids use at home."

Nick was absolutely stunned. He envisioned Jobs' house as an idiot's paradise: huge wall-to-wall touchscreens, an iPad dining table, and iPods handed out to guests like chocolates during dinner.

And Jobs told him that it wasn’t even close. Since then, Nick Bilton has met with many tech leaders or venture capitalists who have said the same thing. They limit the time children spend in front of screens, prohibit the use of devices if they have to get up early tomorrow, and provide them for very short periods of time on weekends.

Nick was taken aback by this parenting style. Most parents take the exact opposite approach, allowing children to bathe in the rays of tablets, smartphones and computers all day long. But it seems that the heads of technical departments know something important that you and I are not aware of.

Chris Anderson, former head of Wired and current CEO of 3D Robotics, has applied parental controls to all devices in the home. “My children accuse my wife and me of becoming fascists and of caring a lot about technology. They say that none of their friends are subject to such restrictions,”he said of his five children, aged 6 to 17. “This is because we see the imminent danger of technology. I saw her with my own eyes, and I do not want this to happen to my children."

By danger, he means exposure to harmful content such as porn, bullying and, worst of all, addiction to devices that the child's parents have already experienced.

Alex Constantinople, head of OutCast Agency, a tech-focused advertising and marketing company, told his 5-year-old son that he does not allow devices to be used during the work week, and his older children 10 and 13, which gives them 30 minutes of device use per day. …

Evan Williams, founder of Blogger, Twitter and Medium, and his wife say that instead of iPads, they have hundreds of books in their home that their children can pick up and read at any time.

How can mums and dads correctly define the boundary they should set in front of their children? In general, it depends on the age of the child. Children under the age of 10 are too addictive, so parents should not allow them to use the device during the entire school week. On weekends, the limit should be between 30 minutes and 2 hours for iPad and iPhone. Children from 10 to 14 years old are allowed to use the computer during the work week only for homework.

“We prohibit our kids from spending time in front of the screen during the school week,” says Leslie Gold, founder and CEO of the SutherlandGold Group. "But you have to make adjustments when they get older and need a computer to do their schoolwork."

Some parents also prohibit teens from using social media, with the exception of Snapchat, which deletes messages immediately. That way, they won't have to worry about their statements popping up on the Internet and then harassing them, a company executive told Nick.

Many parents give smartphones to children under the age of 8, while real technologists wait at least 14 years. But there is a universal rule that we managed to understand from numerous conversations with parents.

Rule # 1: “No screens in the bedroom. Point. Never - said Chris Andersen.

While parents are limiting the amount of time they can use their devices, others are concerned about exactly what a child can do on devices.

Ali Portovi, founder of iLike and an advisor to Facebook, Dropbox and Zappos, said there should be a strong distinction between wasted time watching YouTube or video games and time being “created” with devices.

“Just as I could not limit the time a child can spend drawing, playing the piano or recording something, I think it is absurd to limit his time spent creating computer art, video editing or computer programming,” he said. …

Others say that bans, on the contrary, can create a real computer monster.

Dick Costolo, chief executive of Twitter, told Nick that his wife approved of restrictions on the use of devices in the living room. But they believe that too long a time limit can be bad for their children.

“When I was at the University of Michigan, there were boxes of Coca-Cola and other sodas in the room of the guy who lived next to me,” Costolo said. “Later I found out that his parents did not allow him to drink soda when he was a child. If you do not allow your child to familiarize themselves with the devices, what are the consequences of this?"

Nick never asked Jobs what his children were doing instead of using the devices he created, so he had to turn to Walter Isaacson, who spent a lot of time at their house.

“Every night Steve had dinner at home at the big table in the kitchen, discussing books, history and many other things,” he said. “Nobody got iPad or computers. The kids seemed completely detached from all these devices."