Footballing legend Rio Ferdinand has revealed he and his wife – ex-TOWIE star Kate – have “banned” their kids from TikTok because it’s an area they “can’t control”.
Former England professional player Rio has three kids from his first marriage to Rebecca Ellison – Lorenz, Tate and Tia.
He also shares son Cree with Kate.
Being the youngest child able to use social media, Tia especially, Rio says, isn’t permitted on the video app without one of her parents close by, in fear of what she might see on the platform.
Rio sat down exclusively with Daily Star Online to chat about his family and his involvement in new social media app WeAre8, which claims to be a “hate-free environment”.
Rio explained: “I think that’s a key point as to why I’ve got really excited about WeAre8 – constant conversations around breakfast or dinner with my kids and with Kate, telling them why they’re not allowed on TikTok.
(Image: Instagram)
“My daughter especially, because she’s the youngest, we sit there and we’re not debating it but we’re telling them why. Like, ‘you can go on it if I’m sitting there watching you, behind you, or if Kate’s sitting there watching you’, because I don’t know what she’s going to see, I don’t know what’s being thrown at her.”
He added: “We have control over every part of her life, so why are we not going to have control over social media? Whereas WeAre8 is a controlled environment, where – yes, they’re going to get really good content and positive content – and they’re going to earn money doing it as well, so it’s win-win.”
Rio explained that the new app is a “great leveller” in the debate with his daughter, as it allows her to earn extra pocket money by watching adverts.
He said: “That’s a great leveller in the argument with my daughter, when I tell her she’s getting more than just pocket money. It’s been able to get it over the line a lot more smoothly.
(Image: xkateferdinand/Instagram)
“She’s seeing some new content and different people and it’s a lot more positive. She’s not feeling anxious about putting photos on like every other little girl probably, because they’ve got unattainable goals that they’re trying to reach.”
The platform also advocates for ‘zero anonymity’, and operates a two-strike policy on hate speech or trolling.
Rio also opened up about his wife Kate’s “therapeutic” podcast, Blended, where she opens up about being a stepmum in a blended family.
He explained: “I think her podcast has been immensely therapeutic for her. Then she comes home and we have a debrief, so it probably works for both of us as well.
“She’s learning from other people, she’s helping other people and the amount of exposure it’s getting… it helps so many different people.”
(Image: xkateferdinand/Instagram)
The range of people really is clear, as Rio added: “When you think about blended families, I reckon you’d be hard pushed to find in your group of friends who aren’t associated or connected with somebody in a blended family.
“It touches everybody – different cultures and different backgrounds. But most importantly for Kate, she’s doing something she really enjoys and she really feels that this is her calling to give back to people tangibly.
“A lot of people do need that help, because not everyone has that network of support.”
Kate is also lined up to do a show on WeAre8, Rio confirmed.
(Image: WeAre8)
The app’s founder and company CEO Sue Fennessy explains of the concept: “We’re a hate-free social app that gets money into your pocket every time you watch an ad, and where we unite to take small actions in support of the planet.
“But if I’m talking about why we’ve built it – before this I built a company that tracked billions of dollars of ad spend around the world, and last year Facebook made $100billion (£79billion) – it makes me want to vomit on myself.
“The shocking thing that we saw was that the average engagement rate is under one percent. Any coach of a Premier League team would say if you’re playing at one percent it would be, ‘Get off the field!’
“So the joke is it’s not working for advertisers or for people – we’re the largest unpaid workforce in human history and we’re in an economic and mental health crisis.”
She said of the app: “WeAre8 is economics first – let’s reclaim our economic power from the tech giants, let’s get money in people’s pockets every time they watch an ad. Then it’s to take tiny actions in support of the planet, and get inspired by great content because it’s a hate-free, ad-free experience.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
