With a new advisory being released by U.S. surgeon general Dr. Vivek H. Murthy concerning kids’ and teens’ social media use and its impacts on mental health, these celebrity parents are likely feeling relieved to have taken strict measures with their technology rules for their kids.
Dr. Murthy says the minimum age limit of 13 years old to join social platforms is “too early,” with ages 10-19 being a “time when kids are developing their identity, their sense of self,” thus causing them to be more heavily impacted by the social pressures and opinions that come with the use of Instagram, TikTok, and other popular apps and websites. In addition to Dr. Murthy, even a few mega names in the tech arena agree that social media shouldn’t be used by kids — especially their own.
Would you believe it if we told you even the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Kim Kardashian, and Bill Gates limit screen time for their kids? Some of the biggest tech titans, social media stars, famous figures, and celebrities are wary of technology’s effects on their kids — and all children in general — and they’ve gone as far as sharing their household rules and general thoughts on cell phones, television, and social media pertaining to their toddlers, kids, and teens.
While some famous parents, like Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian, are on the same page about tech rules for their kids, other celebrity co-parents, like Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey, have opposing views that strain their relationship — a challenge that many non-famous separated couples face in deciding how to parent their children.
Prince William and Kate Middleton set firm boundaries to regulate their son's screen time. https://t.co/1Sg3048sfd
— SheKnows (@SheKnows) January 28, 2022
For certain celeb parents, social media is permitted as long as they can approve their kids’ posts. Take Heidi Klum, for example — when her daughter Leni was a teen, she was allowed to use a private Instagram account to keep up with her friends, but Heidi required her to show the photos she wanted to share prior to posting.
For other famous moms and dads, social media is a hard no for their kids. Penelope Cruz refuses to let her children join social media platforms until they’re at least 16 years old, and Madonna chooses to keep her younger kids off social apps after she let her eldest children join Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at 13 — a choice she said vastly impacted her relationship with daughter Lourdes Leon and son Rocco Ritchie.
Read on for more on how famous parents navigate raising their children in an increasingly tech-centric world — we have a feeling some celebrities’ opinions may surprise you.