Evan Spiegel, the mind behind Snapchat, enforces a strict screen time policy for his children with Miranda Kerr.
Despite leading a successful social media platform, Spiegel takes a cautious approach regarding his children’s screen use.
Spiegel has been married to Victoria Secret model Miranda Kerr since 2017, and together they have three sons: Hart, 7, Myles, 6, and Pierre, 19 months old.
Kerr, having been previously married to actor Orlando Bloom, shares a 14-year-old son named Flynn with her former spouse.
Forbes reports that Snapchat has contributed to Spiegel’s net worth of approximately $2.5 billion, with around 432 million users engaging with the app daily. Both Spiegel and Kerr experienced the effects of a significant internet outage on October 20, affecting Snapchat among other platforms.
Due to his immersion in the digital world, Kerr revealed that her husband, at 35, maintains a ‘very anti-screens’ stance, especially concerning their kids.
In an interview with E! News on Dear Media’s The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Show, hosted by Michael and Lauryn Bosstick, Kerr, 42, acknowledged that Spiegel’s views stem from his upbringing. However, the couple has found a middle ground.
She explained: “I’ve said to him, ‘Look, something that feels good to me is maybe on the weekend or a special occasion, curling up with the kids, [the] 6 and 7-year-old and the teenager if he wants to join in, and snuggling up and watching a movie.
“And he’s like, ‘OK, but not every weekend’.”
Kerr noted that this is the ‘extent of the screentime’, though Hart engaged in a learning program during the holidays, marking an occasional exception.
Flynn, conversely, utilizes Snapchat as it serves as the primary communication tool with his friends. The Australian model added: “They don’t really text. They just Snap each other all day long.”
Yet, Kerr mentioned that parental controls are still in place on her son’s phone, commending Snapchat for features like the ‘Family Center’.
She elaborated: “You watch it [The Keys] with them, and it explains very simply what could go wrong or how to prevent it and when to reach out to someone if you feel like something’s off. That’s the way we do it at our house.”
Both Spiegel and Kerr emphasize the importance of internet safety. Spiegel recently told People that while technology offers amazing ways for people to stay connected, there are inherent risks ‘across all platforms’.
It was these concerns that led Spiegel to develop The Keys, an online safety program aimed at teaching teens and families how to navigate the internet securely.
“It’s designed to give teens and families a simple, accessible way to build healthier digital habits together,” he stated. “For us, it’s already helped provide a framework to learn and talk about online safety in a way that feels real and relevant.”