The success of devices like the iPod, iPad and iPhone made Steve Jobs a household name and earned him billions of dollars.

However, despite spending his life creating one of the world's biggest technology empires, he took a fairly strict view on gadgets when it came to his children.

Writing in the New York Times in 2014, Nick Bilton recalled a conversation he had with the late Apple chief executive (whose birthday is 24 February) after the launch of the first iPad.

Asking whether his children liked the new device, Jobs replied: "They haven't used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home."

Surprisingly, taking this kind of approach is fairly common among powerful people in the tech world, Bilton believes.

Chris Anderson, former editor of Wired magazine and co-founder of drone manufacturer 3D Robotics, told him his children accuse him of being overly concerned about technology, saying none of their friends have the same strict rules when it comes to their gagets.

Anderson said: "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."

It's possible that Jobs had the same beliefs, especially considering he was famously obsessed with his company's products, and prone to angry outbursts when problems occurred. 

Walter Isaacson, the author of Steve Jobs, a biography which last year was adapated into a film starring Michael Fassbender, told Bilton: "Every evening Steve made a point of having dinner at the big long table in their kitchen, discussing books and history and a variety of things."

Comments

or to comment
(Logout)
Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines.

Community Guidelines

  • You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully
  • Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable
  • Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties
  • We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification

You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.
  • •
  • •
  • RSS
See more