During a recent trip to China, one constant complaint I heard is the abuse of iPads and other digital devices now popular among children.

Affluent parents put expensive gadgets, such as iPads, into their children's hands and expect them to work wonders. Instead, they go on to regret it, as their children use them just to play games.

One perplexed parent asked me: "Why aren't our tech-savvy children doing anything better with technology?" The word "technology" caught my attention, and I think we ought to first understand what we mean by "technology".