Kelly Stafford has become very used to dealing with social media criticism over the years — even from the friends of her 7-year-old twin daughters.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Kelly explained she’s currently at a tipping point when it comes to social media and her girls. Kelly and her husband, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, share four daughters: twins Sawyer and Chander, 7, Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4.
“When it comes to social media, I always told myself the minute they know what Instagram is, is the minute I have to figure something out. And my older ones know what it is,” Kelly said. “They have come home and been like, ‘Mom, how do people know we were sick?’”
Last month, Kelly shared multiple health updates about her daughters via Instagram, which included a trip to the emergency room after a flu ravaged the family.
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“In the near future, there is going to be a discussion about whether or not sharing them on social media is going to be happening,” Kelly noted. “At the end of the day, we want them to be able to control what’s out there. They’re getting to an age now where their friends have Instagrams and they’re following me. That is something I really have to consider moving forward.”
Kelly said she and Matthew, who got married in April 2015, have considered giving their daughters “the phones that we had that have cell phone numbers and that’s it.”
“Our generation grew up in the weird time where we started to have [social media],” Kelly added. “But the generation before us, social media was new and their kids have it. But they don’t really know the pros and cons of it. But our generation knows what can happen and the dangers of it.”
Despite that knowledge, Kelly admitted she still struggles with negativity that gets thrown her way from strangers online.
“Social media can obviously be used as a tool, right? In the work that I’m doing, unfortunately I need it,” Kelly, who hosts “The Morning After” podcast, told Us. “But I am human. Comments that are mean hurt my feelings. I have feelings and I’m not going to sit here and act like I don’t.”
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She added, “I have tried to develop some kind of thick skin to understand what my values are and sticking to those regardless of what people can say about me. The ones that are close to me, I care about their opinions. I just try to remind myself of that.”
Ultimately, Kelly said she can’t help but “fear for my kids with social media.”
“That is a whole different ballgame,” she explained. “I pray that something happens to social media before they get to that point, even though I know it probably won’t.”
Kelly continued, “Honestly, it’s really scary. Even as an adult, my self-confidence is intertwined with people who are commenting that don’t even know me. I can only imagine a teenage girl trying to figure out that and still remaining confident. I worry about my daughters.”
