Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves have given their 15-year-old son Levi Alves McConaughey the gift of social media accounts for his birthday.
However, the couple admitted to feeling “nervous” about letting the teenager loose on Instagram and TikTok, and opened up about their concerns.
Levi celebrated his birthday on Friday (7 July) and made his debut by posting a video in which he introduced himself and shared several moments from his life in recent months. He plans to use his social media accounts to talk about his love for surfing, fashion and his family.
In a joint video, McConaughey and Alves wished Levi a happy birthday, but also spoke openly about their worries about letting their child join social media.
“Happy birthday Levi Alves McCounaghey. Can you believe it? 15 years young,” the Dallas Buyers Club star, 53, said.
“Hey buddy, your mom is a little nervous today. One of the gifts we’re giving you, yes, we are allowing you today to join the social media universe.”
Alves, 41, added: “We’ve been talking about this for a long time. Preparing for it, talking about it for three years now.”
The parents, who have been married since 2012, said they were confident that Levi “knows who he is”.
McConaughey said: “He knows where he’s going. I think he can handle it. He has a great story to tell, to share. I want to let all of y’all know you’re getting a very cool and respectful young man, Levi McConaughey is coming at you, and I hope you can all do your best to treat him the same way.
“Levi, enjoy the adventure, sharing your story and expressing yourself and exchanging with the people out there.”
However, the actor had some sage advice for his teenage son. “Let me tell you this, the older you do get, the more rules they’re gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin’ man, L-I-V-I-N.”
The Interstellar star previously opened up about fatherhood and told People that being a father was “the only thing I ever wanted to be”.
In a 2020 interview, he said: “It’s remained the pinnacle for me. Being a dad was always my only dream… I can’t think of anything being more important.”
The year before, he told the publication that his children were his “living legacy”.
“I’ve got a large hand in shepherding my three children up until they’re 18 and out of the house,” McConaughey said. “Yeah, see if I hold on to my words in a few years. That’s the thing I think I do most honourably is having three autonomous, conscientious, confident children.”
McConaughey and Alves share three children, including Levi. Their other children are 13-year-old daughter Vida and 10-year-old son Livingston.
