Football star David Beckham spoke about the dangers of social media and how… How his family dealt with online bullying.
The 49-year-old president and co-owner of U.S. Soccer Club Inter Miami reflected on his football career from 1992 to 2013 and how he dealt with the pressure of being sent off during a game.
“I’m really glad there was no social media because it was bad enough,” Beckham said. “The things people said to me were bad enough.”
Beckham and his wife Victoria, who have four children, said they faced intense pressure from social media. Beckham’s eldest son, Brooklyn, is 25, and his youngest son, Harper, is 13.
The former footballer said his daughter does not use any social media platforms, adding “we are going to stay that way for a while” but his sons have famous social media accounts.
“They all had people messaging them and they all sat down with me and Victoria and asked ‘What do we do with this dad?’ Even though you turn to them and say ‘don’t read it’, we all read it and that’s it That’s the problem, and there’s so much bullying, and it’s not just about kids.
“Unfortunately, we’re in a culture where bullying seems to be acceptable and should never be acceptable. So I think social media platforms have a real responsibility to protect people from bullying.”
Beckham, who has more than 88 million followers on Instagram, said he takes responsibility for his content and has “real thoughts” behind each post.
“The odd post was obviously a commercial post, but I was interested in every post, every headline, because I thought it was important,” he said.
“With social media followers like this, we have a huge responsibility. There are bad parts of social media and there are good parts. What we try to do with my followers and my social media platform is Make good use of it,” he added.
Beckham attends World Economic Forum for the first time and receives news on Monday crystal award – Honoring “cultural leaders who have made significant contributions to promoting social, environmental and creative progress” – for his work protecting vulnerable children. He has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2005.
