Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Insider
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel says he only allows his children 1.5 hours of screen time a week
By Kenneth Niemeyer,
17 days ago
Peter Thiel, an early investor in Facebook, said he only lets his kids have 1.5 hours of screen time each week.
Nordin Catic/Getty Images
Peter Thiel said he only lets his kids use screens for 1.5 hours a week.
There is a growing push by US officials to regulate the use of social media among children.
Other tech CEOs, like Evan Spiegel and Sundar Pichai, also limit their children's screen time.
Social media for thee, but not for me. Or my kids, says Peter Thiel.
During a conversation with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado on Thursday, Thiel, the cofounder of PayPal and the first outside investor in Facebook, revealed that he doesn't like his kids spending too much time in front of screens during the week.
Sorkin asked Thiel about the recent announcement from US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy that his office would push for labels on social media platforms warning about the dangers they pose to children's health. Meta, Facebook's parent company, is also facing a lawsuit from 33 states that says Facebook and Instagram harm young people's mental health.
Thiel said it's "too easy" to turn Big Tech into a scapegoat for "all our problems." Still, he said there is an "interesting critique one could make" about the fact that many social media executives limit screen time for their kids.
Thiel isn't the first tech leader to admit that they strictly limit their children's screen time. Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said he also limits his 8-year-old's screen time to one and a half hours a week.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai previously said he didn't give his middle-school-aged son a cellphone and that all televisions in his home are locked with an "activation energy" that makes watching TV not easily accessible.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Comments / 0