With the rise of social media, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are “worried” about how to raise their two children.
“Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life,” Meghan, 42, confessed during a panel at Project Healthy Minds’ World Mental Health Day Festival on Tuesday, October 10. “Outside of course to being a wife to this one.”
The Archewell Foundation, which the pair founded, has been striving to better spotlight the detrimental impacts of social media for children, Meghan said after giving her husband a kind glance.
“I feel fortunate that our children are at an age, again quite young, so this isn’t in our immediate future,” Meghan mentioned at The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit “Mental Wellness in the Digital Age” presentation on Tuesday, highlighting that “it worries me” what’s to come.
The actress, who has a 4-year-old son named Archie and a 2-year-old daughter named Lili with Harry, 39, also said that the “progress” the Archewell Foundation has achieved in the past year in giving a voice to the families harmed by social media toxicity has “gave her a lot of hope.”
“Everyone now is affected by the online world and social media. Some more than others. We all just want to feel safe,” Meghan added. “In that so much of it can come down to, if someone is looking for something, please don’t feed them the thing that they’re not looking for that is going to harm them.”
Harry supported his spouse, telling attendees, “I think for us, for myself and my wife, with kids growing up in the digital age, the priority here is to turn pain into purpose.”
The prince said that parents may affect change and save children’s lives by sharing their cautionary tales or tales of loss due to social media.
“Yes, these platforms are addictive. We all accept that and agree. As someone who works within those companies — as someone who designs them especially — please stop sending children content that you wouldn’t want your own children to see,” Harry pleaded. “I think that’s a really simple request. It’s an easy fix.”
Meghan added that “social media is not going away” and should therefore be a cause for concern for all parents. “By design, there is an entry point that’s supposed to be positive,” she said. “Something has devolved and there’s no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard. Their stories are what matter.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Marcy Lab School earlier that day while they were in New York City to commemorate World Mental Health Day. The Archewell Foundation, run by Harry and Meghan, collaborates with the Brooklyn trade school.
The pair met with the high school graduates who were selected to be the Fall 2023 Marcy Lab Fellows. In order to understand how former fellows are utilising technology in their post-graduation professions, they also spoke with fellowship alumni.
According to a source who spoke exclusively to Us Weekly earlier this month, “Harry and Meghan have been busy with Invictus Games recently, but Meghan is still planning her Hollywood reinvention,”.
“Meghan has a new team around her, and they’ve been strategizing about what mediums will have the most impact.”
The insider stated that Meghan wants her next project “to be rooted on giving back” and “philanthropy,” though nothing is “locked in yet.” This might result in more docuseries that emphasise the need for funding in various sectors.