Is It Smart to Have Smart Devices?

The very skillful saleswoman at Verizon convinced me to buy a pair of light bulbs that I can control from my phone. I never installed them, because once I got home, I wondered why I needed to be able to turn on the lights when I'm not home, or even when I'm in the driveway. This saleswoman loved the smart light bulbs she had at home, and demonstrated how she could turn them off and on using her phone. She said her husband was at home, and I asked if he would be freaked out by her playing with the lights. She happily said he was used to it.

Today the New York Times has an article stating that home computers can be compromised by hackers who access smart devices like thermostats, light bulbs and televisions. Obviously, this could be really bad. One suggested work around is to have the smart devices on a separate network from the home computer. Another solution is to avoid smart devices.