I couldn't agree with you more. The screens are hypnotic subverters that act on young and old alike. For the young minds it is way too easy to be swayed one way or another and the 'programmers' are fully aware of the power they hold. I think it's great to limit Smallsteps' screen time and more importantly, to get the face to face interaction that is central to humans. It sometimes feels as though we are all turning into machines.
I wonder what they are going to discover in terms of developmental problems in the future. The first few years are critical for brain development, and there are studies about what happens when kids don't have enough interpersonal communication, yet we are putting them on screens before they are one.