Jobs also controlled his kids’ smart phone use

Parents who criticized Steve Jobs, who made the iPhone, every time they saw their children consumed with their smart phones, are about to get angrier. The New York Times reported on September 11 that Jobs strictly controlled IT device use by his children at home.

Some imagine the Jobs’s household was like a nerd’s paradise: that the walls were giant touch screens, the dining table was made from tiles of iPads and that iPods were handed out to guests like chocolates on a pillow. On the contrary, IT devices were not even mentioned at the dinner

Jobs is not the only tech CEO teaching IT asceticism. Chris Anderson, the former editor of Wired and now chief executive of 3D Robotics, a drone maker, has instituted time limits and parental controls on every device in his home. He says his children accuse him of being a fascist.

They do so as have seen the dangers of technology firsthand. The dangers he is referring to include exposure to harmful content like pornography, bullying from other kids, and having their online activities circulate around cyberspace and backfire in privacy infringement.

The tech CEOs also have control standards for each age range of their children. For instance children under nine are not allowed any gadgets during the week. On weekends, there are limits of 30 minutes to two hours on iPad and smartphone use. Ten- to 14-year-olds are allowed to use computers on school nights, but only for homework. They are not given a data plan until 16.

There are plenty of people who disagree, though. Dick Costolo, chief executive of Twitter, told me he and his wife approved of unlimited gadget use as long as their two teenage children were in the living room. They believe that too many time limits could have adverse effects on their children. “There was a student who had cases and cases of Coca-Cola and other sodas in his room,” Mr. Costolo said. “I later found out that it was because his parents had never let him have soda when he was growing up.”