Matthew McConaughey has shown that his parenting decisions with wife Camila Alves are always carefully considered, and opened up about his latest involving their teenage son, Levi.
Matthew and Camila, 41, share three children, those being Levi, 15, Vida, 13, Livingston, ten. The actor recently released a children's book titled Just Because inspired by his own three.
The 53-year-old actor, who is set to star in a Yellowstone spin-off after promotion for his book concludes, appeared on a recent episode of Today with Hoda and Jenna aka the Fourth Hour of Today to promote the book, and spoke about his philosophy for social media and children.
He explained the decision to not allow their son on social media till he was 15 years old, predicting Levi's eventual move to Instagram soon after his 15th birthday.
"Oh he wanted it early on, probably when he was 12, definitely 13. Definitely 14," he explained. "And we waited till he was 15.
"We tried to look at the up falls and the downfalls. It's not like sending your kid off to college, but it is like sending your kids off with a bunch of strangers into the world."
He explained that the decision came after extensive conversation about what social media can entail and do. "[We spent] two years trying to really define what social media is to him.
"Let's talk about what it is. Let's talk about the up falls. Let's talk about the downfalls. Let's talk about the assets. Let's talk about the traps. Let's talk about what you wanna tell."
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Matthew added: "Because what happens a lot of times with young people and social media is they wake up in the morning and the first thing on their mind is, 'What will be a good post?' instead of, 'What do I want to do today?'"
© Getty ImagesHe explained as well that the intricacy of social media comes because "the world's telling you and strangers are telling you who you are and if you should feel confident about yourself," and the hosts couldn't have agreed more, with Jenna Bush Hager stating defiantly that she wanted her own kids to spend time "living" rather than "scrolling."
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Many on social media had a variety of opinions to offer as well. One wrote: "Kids need cell phones just not the internet or social media," while another added: "Wish all parents had the same mentality. Children are not learning to communicate."
© InstagramA third explained: "Depends on the kid! Mine got a phone at 12. We allowed them on social media. We monitored it. They never have big on it. They are grown now and can read a book or be active. You have to monitor it and set a good example."
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Many praised Matthew's approach and called for more celebrities to be open about the same views, with one saying: "I love that so many celebrities are being a good examples about waiting when it comes to phones and social media."
One fan also responded: "That's quite a feat to keep a 15 year old from social media…most parents wouldn’t have that level of control at that age."
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