Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves allow teenage son to join social media for birthday

McConaughey urged people to go easy on his son

McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves decided that their son Levi could have the privilege of joining Instagram and TikTok after he turned 15 on Friday (July 7).

The 53-year-old actor and Alves shared a happy birthday post on social media for Levi, in which they announced he had arrived on the apps.

McConaughey said: “Yes, we are allowing you Levi today, on your 15^th birthday, to join the social media universe.”

They went on to reveal that it had been a big decision for them as parents, with them having discussed it with Levi for three years.

Speaking of his son, McConaughey added: “He knows who he is, he knows where he’s going, I think he can handle it. He’s got a great story to tell and share.”

And he urged the good people of Instagram to go easy on Levi, saying: “You’re getting a very cool and respectful young man in Levi McConaughey, and I hope y’all can do your best to treat him the same way.”

Levi thanked his parents for the birthday message in the comments, with his dad then adding: “Levi, enjoy the adventure, enjoying telling your story, expressing yourself and what you put out there and the exchange you get with people out there.”

The teen's first post on Instagram was a short, cinematic collection of clips of him, surfing, running across the beach and diving in the sea, living his best child-of-a-famous-couple life.

The compilation also included pictures of him and his family, and him doing some volunteering work.

He captioned the post with a simple "happy to be here," and in a nod to his father, he used audio from McConaughey's character in the 1993 coming-of-age film Dazed & Confused.

He says: “Let me tell you this. The older you do get, the more rules they’re going to try to get you to follow. You just got to keep livin’ man. L-I-V-I-N.”

Levi's racking up a following, having already amassed 131,000 followers on Instagram, with his bio reading: “Surf, Snow, Shoot, Style, Sound.”

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