Limites ao consumo de tecnologia

Vale a pena ler todo este artigo do NY Times.
Estão lá os riscos do excesso de "consumo" de tecnologia pelo miúdos, em grande parte por incentivo dos seus pais:

• isolamento da realidade e das pessoas de carne e osso
• criação de um rasto na Internet do qual poderão envergonhar-se no futuro mas do qual não poderão livrar-se
• saltar etapas: passar do analfabeto ao digital sem nunca ter lido um livro, visto um filme, um documentário, ou um teatro
• e na verdade, a maior parte do tempo que estes miúdos passam à frente dos ecrans é uma pura perda de tempo. Saltam de conteúdo para conteúdo, não aproveitando nada do que a Internet, de facto, tem de útil

Não sou CEO, como os citados no artigo, mas concordo e pratico, mesmo contra a corrente dos tablets e smartphones para crianças, iPods porque o menino tem que ter, consolas de último modelo e, last but not least, Magalhães para quem nem ler ainda sabe.

Opinião de alguns daqueles que inventam ou financiam as tecnologias e as "killer apps" do momento:

"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. “My kids accuse me and my wife of being fascists and overly concerned about tech, and they say that none of their friends have the same rules,” he said of his five children, 6 to 17. “That’s because we have seen the dangers of technology firsthand. I’ve seen it in myself, I don’t want to see that happen to my kids.”

"Alex Constantinople, the chief executive of the OutCast Agency, a tech-focused communications and marketing firm, said her youngest son, who is 5, is never allowed to use gadgets during the week, and her older children, 10 to 13, are allowed only 30 minutes a day on school nights.

Evan Williams, a founder of Blogger, Twitter and Medium, and his wife, Sara Williams, said that in lieu of iPads, their two young boys have hundreds of books (yes, physical ones) that they can pick up and read anytime."

"Children under 10 seem to be most susceptible to becoming addicted, so these parents draw the line at not allowing any gadgets during the week. On weekends, there are limits of 30 minutes to two hours on iPad and smartphone use. And 10- to 14-year-olds are allowed to use computers on school nights, but only for homework."

"Some parents also forbid teenagers from using social networks, except for services like Snapchat, which deletes messages after they have been sent. This way they don’t have to worry about saying something online that will haunt them later in life, one executive told me."

"Although some non-tech parents I know give smartphones to children as young as 8, many who work in tech wait until their child is 14. While these teenagers can make calls and text, they are not given a data plan until 16. But there is one rule that is universal among the tech parents I polled.

“This is rule No. 1: There are no screens in the bedroom. Period. Ever,” Mr. Anderson said."