Kids aren't addicted to the flashy screen first. The first order issue is they want to be like you. That want to be like you soooo much. With every fiber of their being.
Regardless, the moment he saw an iPad in the library, he wanted to stare at it and fiddle with it for an hour. Even to the point of completing ignoring the model train set which he loves.
Of course if anyone has never seen a screen like that, the second they see it they’re going to get fascinated by it.
Source: own experience and I bet most of the HN population's
The way the commodore 64 was so addictive even while not being designed to do so helps prove that point. Most of our parents thought we were wasting our time and should read a book or watch TV depending on the parent in question. Of course we didn't. In fact those other things were more time wasting IMO. We were learning to create.
That this obsession turned into great careers and changed the world (sadly not always for the better as you describe!) was overlooked back then.
But kids just love tech just like they love rockets and dinosaurs, they don't need their parents setting the example.