Peter Thiel and fellow tech billionaires are openly protecting their children from the very products that built their fortunes

In spite of having constructed an increasingly screen-dominated world, billionaire tech leaders are keeping their own children distant from the technology they contributed to developing.

As early as 2010, co-founder Steve Jobs told a New York Times reporter that his children had never used an iPad and that “we restrict the amount of technology our kids use at home.” 

Since that time, the trend of Silicon Valley billionaires keeping their families away from technology has become even more evident, partly due to the rise of social media and short-form videos. 

In recent years, excessive device usage among children has become more prevalent as harried parents turn to screens for some respite. The trend has accelerated to such an extent that some young children accustomed to extensive screen time are referred to as “iPad kids.” On average, children in the U.S. aged 8 to 18 spend 7.5 hours per day watching or using screens, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Co-founder Steve Chen stated at a talk at the Stanford Graduate School of Business last year that he wouldn’t want his children to consume only short-form content, noting that it might be better to restrict kids to videos longer than 15 minutes.

“Shorter-form content equates to shorter attention spans,” he said.

At the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, early Facebook investor and billionaire Peter Thiel joined Chen among tech leaders who are imposing strict screen limits. Thiel revealed that he only allows his two young children to use screens for one and a half hours per week, a disclosure that elicited audible gasps from the audience. 

Other tech CEOs, including Bill Gates of Microsoft, Evan Spiegel of Snap, and Elon Musk of Tesla, have also discussed limiting their children’s access to devices. Gates has stated that he did not give his children smartphones until they were 14 and completely banned phones from the dinner table. In 2018, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said he restricts his child to the same one and a half hours per week of screen time as Thiel. And finally, Musk, who acquired the social media company X, previously known as Twitter, in 2022, said he “chooses” not to set any rules on social media for his children. 

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who had previously said his own children were too young to use TikTok, clarified in 2023 that if his children lived in the U.S. and had access to the stringent protections linked to the platform’s under-13 settings, he would allow them to use the app. He said they could use the platform in the under-13 mode, which, among other protections, includes screened content, no posting access, and no advertisements.

Scientific research supports their parenting instincts. A 2025 study of nearly 100,000 people found that short-form video usage was consistently linked to poorer cognition and a decline in various aspects of mental health among both younger and older social media users.

Social media backlash is growing

As young people increasingly spend most of their waking hours online, the opposition to social media, particularly minors’ use of social media, has reached a critical stage.

In the past year, Australia and Malaysia became the first countries to ban those under 16 from using social media. And several other countries, including France, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, are contemplating similar legislation.

Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified earlier this week to defend his company against a 20-year-old plaintiff’s claim that the social media giant designed its platforms to entice young children.

And yet, the notion that social media use is harmful to young people is not a new phenomenon; it has existed for years. Still, it’s the tech leaders who created the attention economy who have been the most mindful of this reality. 

To be sure, several social media CEOs have publicly disputed claims that their platforms are harmful. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri stated earlier this month in the trial against Meta that social media does not qualify as “clinical addiction.” During the trial, Meta’s lawyers also outlined a series of safety features Instagram has implemented for younger users, including restrictions on the visibility of adult content and muted notifications at night.

Yet, as trials proceed and country after country moves toward legislating what Silicon Valley’s billionaires have quietly practiced for years, the private behavior of the world’s most powerful tech figures contrasts with what they are promoting and constructing.