Soccer star David Beckham addressed soccer star David Beckham and how his family deals with online bullying on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The 49-year-old president and co-owner of the American football club Inter Miami CF recalled his football career, which lasted from 1992 to 2013, and how he dealt with the pressure of being sent off during a match.
“I'm really glad there wasn't social media back then because it was bad enough,” Beckham said. “What people told me was bad enough.”
Beckham and his wife Victoria have four children who he says are under enormous pressure from social media. Beckham's oldest son, Brooklyn, is 25, and his youngest, Harper, is 13.
The former footballer said his daughter is not on any social media platform and added that “it will stay that way for some time” but his sons have significant social media accounts.
“All these people are messaging them and they sit me and Victoria down and say, 'How are we going to deal with this dad?' Even if you turn to them and say, “Don't read this,” we all read it. This is the problem, we are all child abusers. it's with adults,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we live in a culture where it seems that bullying is accepted and should never be accepted. So I think social media platforms have a real responsibility to protect people from this.”
Beckham, who has more than 88 million followers on Instagram, said he feels responsible for his content and that there is a “real thought” behind each post.
“There's the odd post on the site that's obviously a commercial post, but I look forward to every post, every caption because I think it's important,” he said.
“With so much social media following, it comes with a huge responsibility, there are good and bad sides to social media. “What we're trying to do with my followers and my social media platform is use it for good,” he added.
Beckham, who attended WEF for the first time, accepted the award on Monday Crystal Award — which recognizes “cultural leaders who have made significant contributions to social, environmental and creative progress” — for his work to protect vulnerable children. Since 2005, he has been a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.