Jennifer Garner recently buzzed about keeping her teenagers off social media.
Every parent knows the challenge of keeping their kids off their electronic devices. It starts from their toddler years and continues well into the media-loving teen years with TikTok, Instagram, and their likes.
One celebrity mom has found a loophole and is putting her foot down with her kids, and now she opened up about it. The “Alias” star went on the “TODAY” show to explain her tactics to keep her children offline.
Jennifer Garner Reveals How She Keeps Her Teens Off The Internet
On Tuesday, the star of the upcoming Apple TV+ series “The Last Thing He Told Me” spoke with Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on TODAY on April 11 about the successful way she kept her children offline.
When asked by the hosts to explain how she separated her kids from social media without facing any resentment or backlash from them, Garner said, “I just said to my kids, ‘Show me the articles that prove that social media is good for teenagers, and then we’ll have the conversation.”
The mom-of-three added that she told them to “find scientific evidence that matches what I have that says that it’s not good for teenagers, then we’ll chat.” The “Dallas Buyers Club” actress was later asked how her kids felt about her decision. She revealed that her oldest, Violet, 17, has appreciated the boundary.
However, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 11, have started pushing back at the decision a little as they asked to create social media accounts. She continued, “My eldest is grateful; it’s a long haul. I have a couple more to go, so knock on wood. We’ll see if I hang in there.”
The 50-year-old said her kids have access to “all kinds of things online, but they don’t have social media accounts. Just because they don’t have social media accounts doesn’t mean they’re not interacting with what’s on Instagram, TikTok, and all those things.”
Garner and her ex Ben Affleck now co-parent their children, having separated in 2015 and moved on to a different partner. However, for their children, they align with their choice of privacy.
PEOPLE noted how the famed parents work to keep their kids out of the spotlight. In 2013, the doting mom joined a group of celebrity parents led by Halle Berry to pass a bill prohibiting unauthorized paparazzi photos of children. Also, she decided to keep her kids off social media, saying she doesn’t “see anything positive” for them in it.
“The Adams Project” shared how she became upfront and communicative with her kids to help navigate negative press attention surrounding her family. “I’d tell them, ‘If you see an image on the front of a magazine, I’ll look at it with you,’ and we’ll process all the scary feelings that come up together.”
The father is only interested in his children’s opinions about him. The “Good Will Hunting” actor spoke to Good Morning America in December 2021, “I will be long dead, and someone will ask my kids, ‘What was your dad like?’ and that is when I will know my life was worth.”
He noted that being with his kids led him to begin his production company, Artists Equity, in Los Angeles. “One of the reasons I did it was I’m divorced. I share custody. I don’t want to go to Austin, New Orleans, and Georgia anymore and not see my kids.”
The ‘Peppermint’ Star Says She Avoids News About Her Family Online
The Blast recently noted that the “Love, Simon” actress works hard to avoid seeing any news of herself or her ex-husband. She said, “I work hard not to see either of us in the press. It doesn’t make me feel good, even if it’s something nice about one of us.”
Garner shared that she forgets that she or anyone she cares about is “out there in any way.” Saying, “I don’t need to see anyone in my family made into a meme.” When asked if she’s seen any of Affleck’s viral memes online, the actress replied no but joked that her ex is “quite meme-worthy” because of their “very unhappy-looking resting face.”
