By Gavin Boyle
Miranda Kerr, the wife of Snapchat founder Evan Kerr, explained that they keep their kids off screens except for special occasions, like family movie nights.
“My husband is very anti-screens for the young ones because that’s the way he was raised. And so, I’ve kind of, you know, we’ve been together for eleven years, and I’ve said to him, ‘Look, something that feels good to me is just like maybe on the weekend or a special occasion curling up with the kids, like the six and seven year old and the teenager if he wants to join in, and like snuggling up and watching a movie.’ And he’s like, ‘Okay, but not every weekend.’ I’m like, ‘Okay. That’s fine.’ I’ll compromise. But that’s like, the extent of the screen time,” Kerr explained.
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While tech companies will tout the safety of their platforms all day long, most industry titans take a stance similar to Kerr’s, essentially keeping their kids off the platforms they have helped make ubiquitous in today’s world. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, also does not really allow his kids to spend much time on screens.
“I don’t generally want my kids to be sitting in front of a TV or a computer for a long period of time,” Zuckerberg told Fox News in 2019. “I let my kids use [Facebook Portal] to communicate with my parents, so they can stay in touch with their grandparents easily, [and] their aunts who live across the country.”
Those who know the inner workings of social media have long limited their children’s access to the technology, and science is finally catching up to explain why these platforms are so harmful for developing brains. In recent years, a slew of new data has finally provided undeniable, scientifically backed proof about just how negative an impact social media and devices in general can have on young brains. And while people like Zuckerberg or Kerr would argue against these findings, their actions speak otherwise, as they keep their kids off social media.
Thankfully, legislation has also begun to respond to these studies, and in the summer of 2024, then U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for a U.S. Surgeon General’s Warning to be placed on all social media to warn young users of the proven negative impacts the technology will have on their mental health. State governments have since responded by considering school cellphone bans, and recently, California became the first state to pass a bill requiring all social media platforms to warn young users about the impact the technology can have on them.
Despite what social media founders say publicly to defend their companies, their actions with their kids reveal that they know their platforms are dangerous for young users. Parents should follow their lead and delay when they allow their kids onto these platforms for the sake of their future health..
Read Next: California Passes Law to Require Warning on Social Media
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