children up to eight years old spend an average of two hours and 19 minutes in front of a screen every day and 47% of parents worry that their kids are addicted to mobile devices it also includes many parents in the tech industry Jamie yuccas takes a look at how they're dealing with their kids in Silicon Valley devices are an essential part of daily life but many of the tech Titans creating these products choose to power down when they leave the office following industry giants like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs who restricted their own kids access
to technology at home Pierre Laurent has worked for companies including Microsoft and Intel he says the tech industry designs products to hook users do you think the average parent is aware of that danger no I don't think the parents are aware of that Pierre and his wife Monica became concerned that their three children would miss out on real-life experiences while on their devices researchers are still learning more about how technology affects kids but some early studies of heavy tech users show potential links to arise and teen suicide rates addiction anxiety and loss of social skills
none of the three children played video games or watch TV and they didn't get cell phones until they were teenagers their 13 year old daughter Maya spends her free time knitting and playing in the backyard do you ever miss technology not really no the only thing I might miss technology for is listening to music or an audio book every parent is really struggling with how to reap the benefits of technology while minimizing some of the risks Caroline or is the senior parenting editor for common sense media a nonprofit that studies the effect of media and
Technology on kids they recommend paying close attention to kids demeanor while using their devices and creating a schedule with guidelines on the types of tech activities they can do and for how long for Monica and Pierre the hope is that a tech free childhood will lead to more balance later in life young children need to grow in a different environment that hasn't half that much technology in it Jamie yuccas CBS News Silicon Valley
