Kids and Tech

I've been hearing a lot of discussions about the level of technology and gadgetry in the lives of our children. Nielsen recently released a study of what children expressed interest in for Christmas gifts and the iPad topped the charts. As the questioned got older the field evened out a bit, but clearly gadgets are what they are looking for. The big questions are how much is too much and how early is too young?
Admittedly I come from a tech forward background. My dad brought home a TRS-80 when I was in first grade. When the IBM clones happened, it didn't take long before one found its way into our home. I was even allowed to dial into the VAX machines at dad's work to play text only games like Dungeon or Questprobe: Spider-Man and ASCII games like Rouge. It only makes sense that I'd want my offspring to enjoy the same things.
Fast forward to somewhere near present time and my daughter, at age six, has mastered every kids "computer" and is asking for more. She got a Leapfrog gaming system and that held her until she tried her cousin's Nintendo DS. This year, at eight, we're giving the Nabi2 tablet a try. I chose that one mostly because it can grow into a real tablet and not be another obsolete toy in six months.
Am I doing her a disservice getting her started with tech gadgets now, or am I keeping her prepared to relevant in a world where technology is advancing at a breakneck pace? Of course I don't want her into the less than PG side of the web for years to come, but what will the world look like in ten years when she's in college? What will she have to master to secure a good career in any field?
What about learning to live in a world where any poor decisions you make in the online world have real consequences? In the last two weeks two people have made the news by being fired over dumb decisions that we're displayed online in what they though were private places. One was a man on reddit.com being very creepy and borderline criminal who got outed. His job didn't want the negative press so it he went. The second was a young girl who worked for a charity and made the mistake of paying an inflammatory picture on Facebook. She had a co-worker snap a pic of her screaming and flipping off a sign that said Silence and Respect Arlington National Cemetery. I have no more pity for her than the reddit creeper, and I don't blame their employers for distancing themselves from the bad press.
How long will it take the public to become aware that this is the new normal? Will a generation raised on Facebook and Twitter view this kind of faux pas differently? If technology is moving into everything we do, and believe me there aren't many places that it hasn't yet (Google tweeting kettle), wouldn't exposing our children to tech in reasonable amounts be better for them long term? Why not have a family night working on html together, our building an app that sorts the chores evenly between the kids?
Electric lights, indoor plumbing, the automobile, television and now the internet and it's accessories....