Serena Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian pushed fellow parents to take an important step in protecting their children: banning social media use. He believes that children should not be exposed to the unrealistic standards of living often portrayed on these platforms.

Ohanian and Williams are parents to two daughters: their older child, Olympia, and their youngest, Adira River Ohanian, born in August 2023.

Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Wants Children to Grow Up in a Realistic Environment

In a recent social media post, Ohanian responded to a question about how parents should approach their children’s use of social media. He stated that one of the most effective measures a parent can take is to “ban” their children’s social media usage.

The tech entrepreneur also mentioned that various governments around the world are considering banning social media usage among preteens and teens.

“There is no one way to parent. But since you asked how I’m doing that, the answer is very simple. No social media. I’m not surprised by seeing a lot of governments now moving to ban social media use for pre-teens and teens,” Ohanian said.

Ohanian explained that if everyone collectively decided to refrain from social media, it would eliminate “peer pressure,” and the children would have a “healthier” relationship with themselves. He also advocated for educating children about how most social media posts often present a “fake and performative” reality.

“If everyone agrees to not be on social media, you don’t create that peer pressure, you don’t have that specter of FOMO (fear of missing out). And I think our kids, especially our daughters, end up having much healthier relationships. I do think it’s really important that we arm our kids with an understanding of just how fake and performative most of social media is,” he continued.

Ohanian also pointed out that social media has heightened negative aspects of “youth culture” and “peer pressure,” and has turned it into a competition for likes and followers, which he deemed to be unhealthy.

“It sort of weaponized the worst parts of youth culture and peer pressure and made it a status game of likes and follows and not healthy. Y’all can get this done. You don’t need a government ban to ban it in your own house. And I’d highly recommend it. Not a bad place to start,” Ohanian added.

Williams and Ohanian first met in 2015 at a hotel in Rome, where they later got engaged in 2016. Their first daughter, Olympia, was born on September 1, 2017, and the couple tied the knot two months later, on November 16, 2017, in New Orleans. They welcomed their second daughter, Adira River Ohanian, in August 2023.