Penelope Cruz says the advent of social media has made the home more important than ever for teenagers.
In a conversation with Porter Magazine for its July cover, Cruz opened up about the challenges of being a parent today and how she hopes to encourage open communication with her children.
“I remember puberty being a very difficult time for me. I don’t know what my life would have been like if I had been given a phone at that time with all the horrors of social media,” Cruz said.
Cruz has two children, Leo and Luna, with husband Javier Bardem, whom she married in 2010.
“It’s so hard to be a teenager now, what they feed boys, what they’re tricked into thinking about,” Cruz said.
She said social media could be a “very dangerous weapon” for children and teenagers because of the ideas and messages they are fed online. “This is the type of manipulation that even adults find confusing,” she added.
Parents have to “work a lot harder” to build trust and create an environment at home where children feel comfortable sharing what’s on their minds, Cruz said.
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She says she and Bardem are trying to spend more time offline as a family, encouraging their kids to write by hand, go outside and just talk to each other.
The actress said she has always felt comfortable speaking openly with her parents because they had her at a young age, and hopes to do the same with her children.
“To create a safe environment where they feel like they can ask all the questions and share whatever they need. And I will listen without judgment,” Cruz said.
Cruz has long been vocal about the impact of social media on younger generations.
In 2021, Cruz told CBS Sunday Morning that she uses social media “very little” and doesn’t plan to let her children use it “until at least 16.”
“I do see this as an advocacy for mental health, but I seem to be in the minority,” Cruz said.
In a 2024 interview with Elle magazine, she said her children don’t have phones and called social media a “cruel experiment” on children.
“They’re so easy to manipulate, especially if your brain is still developing,” Cruz said.
Cruise isn’t the only celebrity to set strict social media rules for her kids.
Chrissy Teigen said her “absolute dream” is for her kids to stay off social media until after high school.
“Unless there are more rules and regulations put in place, I would prefer that they stay off social media,” Teigen told People in 2024. “I want them to be safe, happy and thriving as children.”
Several tech leaders also said they are limiting their children’s access to screens.
Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said becoming a father had changed his views on algorithmic feeds and “endless scrolling,” adding that he wanted his son to “play in the dirt while he was there” rather than grow up glued to an iPad.