Why Do Tech Leaders Limit Technology for Their Own Kids?

The people who helped build our digital world know technology better than almost anyone. So why have some of them been so careful about how much of it they give their own children?

 

It’s a question worth asking.

As parents, we are constantly told that technology is simply part of growing up.

“Everyone at school has a phone.”

“They need to learn how to use technology eventually.”

“You can’t keep them away from it forever.”

And that’s true. Technology isn’t going anywhere.

But there is a big difference between teaching a child how to use technology and giving a young child unrestricted access to a smartphone, the internet and social media. And interestingly, some of the people who understand technology best seem to have recognised that distinction too.

Steve Jobs helped create the iPad. His children barely used it.

This is probably one of the most famous examples.

In 2010, journalist Nick Bilton asked Apple co-founder Steve Jobs what seemed like an obvious question: his children must love the newly launched iPad?

Jobs' answer surprised him. His children hadn't used it.

Jobs explained that his family limited how much technology their children used at home. That story later became the subject of Bilton's article about Jobs being a surprisingly low-tech parent.

And Jobs wasn't anti-technology. He is  Steve Jobs after all...

He simply appeared to recognise that creating extraordinary technology didn't automatically mean children needed unlimited access to it.

→ Read more about Steve Jobs' approach to technology at home

Bill Gates waited until his children were 14 before giving them phones

Then there is Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

Despite building one of the world's biggest technology companies, Gates has spoken publicly about setting clear technology boundaries at home.

His children weren't given their own mobile phones until they were 14 years old. The family also had rules around screen use before bedtime and didn't allow phones at the dinner table.

Gates wasn't arguing that technology had no value. In fact, he specifically acknowledged its benefits for things like homework and communicating with friends.

The question was where healthy use ended and excess began.

→ Read more about Bill Gates' technology rules for his children

Mark Zuckerberg also distinguished between useful and passive screen time

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's approach is interesting for another reason.

When his daughters were very young, he said he didn't generally want them sitting in front of a television or computer for long periods.

 

But he made an important distinction.

He was comfortable with them using technology to video call their grandparents, cousins and other family members.

→ Read more about Mark Zuckerberg's approach to his children's screen time

And perhaps that's the part of this conversation parents should pay the most attention to.

The question isn't necessarily whether our children should use technology.

The better question may be:

What are we actually asking technology to do for our children?

Connect them to Grandma? Great.

Let them call Mom when they need help? Absolutely.

Help us know they've arrived safely at school? Useful.

Give a seven-year-old unlimited access to algorithms, strangers, social media, endless scrolling and the internet?

That's a completely different type of technology use.

A former Facebook executive went even further

Chamath Palihapitiya was an early senior executive at Facebook.

Years later, after becoming a parent himself, he became an outspoken critic of social media.

He said that he placed very strict guardrails around social media in his family and did not allow his children to use social media. His concern wasn't simply "screen time". It was what those platforms were designed to do and how they affected behaviour.

→ Read more about Palihapitiya's comments on children and social media

And this is where the bigger conversation begins.

Maybe the problem isn't technology. Maybe it's giving children adult technology too early.

A smartphone is an incredible tool. But it wasn't designed specifically for a seven-year-old. Put one in a child's hand, and you're not simply giving them the ability to phone Mom. You're potentially giving them access to:

• Google.
• YouTube.
• TikTok.
• Instagram.
• WhatsApp.
• Games.
• Advertising.
• Strangers.

Algorithms designed to keep people engaged. And an internet containing almost everything humanity has ever uploaded. That's a lot to hand to a child simply because "I need to be able to contact them." And increasingly, health organisations are encouraging parents to think beyond simply counting minutes of screen time.

The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends looking at the child, the content they consume, what media is replacing in their lives and the context in which they're using it. Its Family Media Plan helps parents create boundaries around digital media that suit their individual family.

→ Explore the American Academy of Paediatrics' guidance on children's media use

The U.S. Surgeon General has also previously warned that, based on available evidence, we cannot conclude that social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents.

→ Read the Surgeon General's advisory on social media and youth mental health

So perhaps parents aren't being "old-fashioned" by delaying smartphones. Perhaps we're simply becoming more intentional.

But parents still need to reach their children

This is where things become difficult.

Because delaying a smartphone doesn't remove the very real reasons parents consider buying one.

Your child starts Grade 1.

They go to aftercare.

They have sports practice.

They visit friends.

They become more independent.

And suddenly you find yourself thinking:

"I don't want to give my child a smartphone yet…but I need to be able to reach them."

That exact parenting problem is why Funkyfing exists.

Funkyfing was created as a smartphone alternative for children aged 5–12—giving families the useful parts of connected technology without handing young children unrestricted internet and social media access.

 

The Funkyfing Jr2 Kids GPS Smartwatch gives children access to things parents actually need at this stage, including calling, messaging, live GPS tracking, Safety Zones and an SOS button, while parents remain in control of contacts and settings.

There is no social media, open internet, games or AI.

In other words:

Connection without everything else.

→ See how the Funkyfing Jr2 works

We don't have to choose between technology and childhood

This conversation shouldn't become "technology is bad".

It isn't.

Technology helps us work, learn, communicate, create and stay connected. Our children will absolutely grow up in a technological world. The question is whether access to everything needs to begin so young. Because childhood still needs room for bikes.

• Books.
• Mud.
• Sport.
• Boredom.
• Friends.
• Imagination.
• Conversations around the dinner table.
  

 

And all those little moments that don't need to become content. Some of the people who helped build the digital world appear to have understood something important:

Just because technology exists doesn't mean our children need all of it, all at once.

Maybe the goal isn't to keep children away from technology.

Maybe the goal is to give them the right technology, at the right age, for the right reason.

And sometimes, delaying the smartphone isn't holding your child back. It's simply giving childhood a little more time.

Want to stay connected without giving your child a smartphone yet?

Explore the Funkyfing Jr2 Kids GPS Smartwatch, designed for South African children aged 5–12 who need connection, safety and a little independence, without social media or open internet access.