"I’m working on the future my daughters deserve" - Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian emphasizes need for real connections in age of social media

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian featured in British author and life coach Jay Shetty's podcast On Purpose on December 16, 2024. In the 1 hour 41 minute interview, Ohanian touched on various topics including the growing need for real connection amid the social media culture.

Ohanian recently took to X to share a clip from his conversation with Shetty not included in the December interview. The Reddit co-founder accompanied the clip with a short note on his responsibility to leave his daughters with an "authentic and meaningful" future.

"Social media 2.0 won’t be about likes or views—it’ll be building real connections with others. Talked to @jayshetty about how the next generation of consumer social will be about connecting with your *actual* friends. (s/o @airbudswidget). The future I’m working on is one my daughters deserve: authentic, human, and meaningful."

The clip began with Ohanian analyzing the current state of social media and his take on what lay ahead. He believed that the culture was driven particularly by young girls and that the bend was more towards finding actual connections than getting fame on social media.

"When I look at the next generation of consumer social, and every app starts with teen girls, college-age girls. They drive all online culture and adoption. You look at Instagram's success, TikTok success, you look at Snap's [Snapchat's] success. It's the same story.

"Today, the apps that are starting to make traction, they're all much less based on the sort of internet popularity contest, and they're much more based on connecting with your actual friends."

Ohanian is an entrepreneur and an investor in the tech world. After parting ways with Reddit, he co-founded the venture capital firm Initialized Capital and invested in start-ups including Instacart, Opendoor, and Cruise.

On the sports side, he is a supporter of women athletes and has a majority stake in the NWSL team, Angels City FC.

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian highlighted the changes in social media usage

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian with daughter Olympia Ohanian. Image: Getty

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian spoke about choosing the right tech business to back as an investor keeping its effect on kids in mind.

Ohanian has two daughters, Olympia and Adira with the 23-time Grand Slam champion. In an interview with Jay Shetty on the latter's podcast On Purpose, he noted a shift in the way young people used social media. He urged investors to recognize the change and help kids form real connections through tech.

"I think the culture has now already built up enough of an immune system that there's a push back to the previous mold of social. When my kids are old enough how am I going to feel about this being a multi billion dollar business that they're on?" he said.

Ohanian shares a close bond with his daughters and they often feature on his social media account. The daughters also have an Instagram handle each, managed by their parents.