When Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves-McConaughey’s son Levi turned 15 years old in July, they decided to grant a years-long wish of his: to be allowed to join social media.
While they were admittedly nervous to do so, the couple gave the teen their blessing, with the actor averring on Instagram, “He knows who he is and he knows where he’s going at and I think he can handle it. He’s got a great story to tell and share.”
On Tuesday, several months after the McConaugheys introduced Levi to social media, Matthew made an appearance on Today and opened up about the conversations he and Camila had with their son to prepare him for the digital universe.
Chatting with co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days star explained, “[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 upfalls. 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.”
Getting Levi to understand the “story” he wants to share was especially important to the couple — “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?’” the Green Lights author opined.
While the dad of three said the social media seascape has been smooth sailing for Levi so far, he added that he and Camila are still encouraging him to slowly foray into the metaverse, among other social networks. “We’re still taking baby steps into, you know, how much he’s immediately in touch with it, what he’s exporting,” Matthew shared. “And we’re going through, we’re measuring, we’re discussing things.”
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Among their discussions, the movie star revealed, was a conversation about inspiration. “We had him look at a lot of other people that he looked up to, their posts,” Matthew explained. “We talked about, ‘Why do you like those?’”
From there, the couple asked Levi to think more deeply about the reaction those peoples’ posts had gotten. Recalling their discussion, the Interstellar actor said, “You saw certain people that had maybe more hits, and you go, ‘But why did they? Were they relevant for the right reasons? Were they relevant for reasons that actually spoke to being more of themselves, rather than acting like somebody else?’ The discussion is ongoing,” he concluded.
It may have just been an interview on Today, but Matthew’s profound parenting philosophy on social media feels more like a masterclass on navigating the digital world with the youths of today — and we say “Alright, alright, alright” to that.
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