Speaking to CNBC’s Tania Bryer at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, soccer star David Beckham touched on the dangers of social media and how his family deals with cyberbullying.
The 49-year-old president and co-owner of the American football club Inter Miami CF reflected on his football career, which lasted from 1992 to 2013, and how he dealt with the pressure of being sent off during the match.
“I’m really glad social media wasn’t around back then because it was bad enough back then,” Beckham said. “It was bad enough that people were telling me.”
Beckham and his wife, Victoria, have four children, who he said are facing immense pressure from social media. Beckham’s eldest son, Brooklyn, is 25 years old, and Harper, the youngest, is 13.
The former footballer said his daughter is not on any social media platform, adding that it will “stay that way for a while”, but his sons have significant social media accounts.
“They all have people texting them and they all sit down with me and Victoria and say ‘How do we deal with this dad?’ As much as you turn to them and say, ‘Don’t read that,’ that’s the problem we’re all drawn to, that’s with adults,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we live in a culture where bullying seems to be accepted and should never be accepted. So I think social media platforms have a real responsibility to protect people from it.”
Beckham, who has more than 88 million followers on Instagram, said he feels responsible for his content and that there is “real thought” behind every post.
“The odd post comes up that’s obviously commercial, but I’m over every post, every caption because I think it’s important,” he said.
“With that kind of social media following, there’s a huge responsibility, and there are bad parts of social media and there are good parts of social media. What we’re trying to do with my following and my social media platform is use it for good,” he added.
Beckham, who visited the WEF for the first time, received on Monday Crystal Award — which recognizes “cultural leaders who have significantly contributed to the advancement of social, environmental and creative progress” — for his work to protect vulnerable children. Since 2005, he has been a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
