Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, set strict rules on his kids’ technology use.

In the 21st century, digital technology is an essential complement to human workers in virtually every industry. To prepare the children of today for the jobs of tomorrow, schools have increasingly adopted screen-based devices for their students, often starting in lower grade levels. As a result, schools have largely given assignments to students online, both during and outside of school hours. Even when minors are not at school, recreational screen time dominates their day, often spent on social media websites. And, with the rise of artificial intelligence in the past few years, students are becoming increasingly reliant upon it to complete assignments as opposed to seeking in-person assistance from peers or instructors. With technology becoming unavoidable early in our lives, its effects on social skills, brain development, and overall intelligence must be carefully monitored. 

But how can we detect the dangers that accompany the domination of digital technology in our children’s lives? A closer investigation into the routines of the founders of many tech giants would certainly give a few hints. The founders of Apple and Microsoft, whose products have dominated the market for smartphones and personal computers, respectively, had several children of their own who grew up during eras in which these products were used worldwide. But this usage was not widespread amongst the children of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. The billionaire founders of tech giants did not allow their kids to use phones at young ages. They restricted screen usage to a narrow timeframe and purpose. They asserted that their discipline existed to ensure that their children’s social skills, school performance, and creativity would not be hindered by time lost to said devices due to their addictive nature. 

These CEOs are not misguided in their reasoning. Studies from multiple psychologists link increased screen times among younger children to worse states of mental health involving depression and anxiety. Aggressive behavior issues also rise due to screen time’s constant overstimulation. Furthermore, poor physical health and worsened school performance have been observed as a result of longer screen time with obesity, physical inactivity, and worsening eyesight all increasing. 

In fact, even outside the random samples of families from around the world used in these studies, evidence from a whole, compact community from decades ago supports these conclusions. Notel, a pseudonym given to a secret town in the Cascades of British Columbia, was isolated from television networks due to its geography, unlike most of Canada during the 1970s. But after TV services were finally introduced, researchers were eager to study the effects on the community. And, in a stark contrast to the era before the TV, children’s schools and playgrounds reported a surge in instances of aggressive behavior. Furthermore, the town’s culture changed: participation in events that brought the community together, such as sporting matches and dinners, decreased. As a result, its cohesion and trust sharply fell too. If we want to best prepare our children for the world of the future, it starts in a real-life—not digital—environment.