Matthew McConaughey‘s son Levi received a unique birthday gift from his famous parents: social media.
In honor of his 15th birthday, Levi McConaughey, who is the son of Matthew and his wife of 11 years, Camila Alves, took to the Internet to introduce himself to the world on Instagram.
“Happy to be here,” Levi captioned the video, which features a series of photos and videos of the teen taking on activities ranging from surfing and snowboarding to getting his hair cut.
“Hi, I’m Levi,” he tells the camera, before it leads into the voice of his father in one of his most iconic roles: David Wooderson in the 1993 teen classic Dazed and Confused, who famously says “Let me tell you this, the older you do get, the more rules they’re gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin’ man, L-I-V-I-N.”
Set to Empire of the Sun’s song “Walking on a Dream,” Levi goes on to tackle a variety of pursuits in the video, including jumping into the ocean from a cliff and posing for pics with his family.
In the comments section, Matthew, 53, chimed in in honor of his son’s birthday, sharing that “levi is l i v i n.” In his Instagram Stories, Levi led viewers to a video of his parents, which was originally shared on Matthew’s Instagram account. In the video, the family discusses their decision to allow their eldest child to join social media. (The couple has two younger children: Livingston, 10, and Vida, 13.)
“Happy birthday Levi Alves McConaughey,” Matthew tells the camera, sporting a scruffy beard and sunglasses. Alves, wearing a black sun hat and blue-and-white patterned dress, chimes in with “Happy birthday buddy, can you believe it? 15!”
“Hey buddy, your mom is a little nervous today about one of the gifts we are giving you,” Matthew shared, noting that they’ve been discussing the possibility of Levi joining social media for the past three years. “Yes, we are allowing you Levi, today on your 15th birthday, to join the social media universe.”
“We’ve been talking for a long time,” Alves, 41, noted. “All of his friends have had it for a long time and we’ve been holding up.”
“He knows who he is, and he knows where he’s going. I think he can handle it,” Matthew continued. “He’s got a great story to tell and share. You’re getting a very cool and respectful young man, and I hope you can all do your best to treat him the same way. Levi, enjoy the adventure. Enjoy sharing your story, expressing yourself and what you put out there, and the exchange you get with people out there. We love you. Happy birthday.”
“Mamma and Papai thank you!!” Levi wrote on the video from Matthew’s account.
Back in 2020, Matthew and Camila spoke about their parenting philosophy in an interview with Town & Country. Matthew noted that “loving your kids means giving them just what they want” sometimes, while “other times it means tough love.”
“Affluent people can give their kids everything they want, but they’re not usually going to get what they need. Loving a child is a lot harder if you really give a damn,” McConaughey explained. “‘No’ takes a lot more energy. It’s a lot easier to say ‘yes.’ “
Matthew McConaughey’s son Levi posts on Instagram after getting permission to join social media for his 15th birthday. Matthew McConaughey’s son Levi posts on Instagram after getting permission to join social media for his 15th birthday