Meghan Markle and Prince Harry talk parenting and protecting children’s mental health in the digital age

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex participated in “The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness in a Digital Age” for World Mental Health Day.

In a week that commemorated World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10) and the International Day of the Girl (Oct. 11), Meghan Markle and Prince Harry focused on the mental health of the most vulnerable among us. 

On Tuesday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in New York City for the first-ever in-person event for their three-year-old foundation, “The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness in a Digital Age.”’ 

As reported by People magazine, the couple joined “an emotional panel of parents … who have experienced tragic loss connected to their child’s social media use.” As Harry indicated after taking the stage, the pair had also been engaged with the parents outside of the platform.

“I can’t start without thanking all the parents, the mothers and fathers for being with us physically today, but also being on this journey with us for the last year, creating this community of shared experience,” said Harry as he and Meghan joined the panel. “We know it’s not easy for you guys to be here, so thank you very much.”

“A year ago, we met some of the families,” Meghan added, “and at the time, it was impossible not to be in tears hearing their stories because it’s just that devastating.”

Acknowledging the challenges of raising children in a digital age, in which bullies, predators and other dangers can leverage the broad reach of social media, the Sussexes also acknowledged their concerns as parents to son Archie and daughter Lilibet.

“As parents, though our kids are really young — two-and-half and four-and-a-half — but social media isn’t going away,” noted Meghan. “And by design, there was an entry [point] that was supposed to be positive and create community, but something has devolved, and there’s no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard.”

Speaking to the purpose of the summit, Harry added: “I think for us, for myself and my wife, with kids growing up in a digital age, the priority here is to, again, turn pain into purpose and provide as much support as well as a spotlight and a platform for these parents to come together, to heal, to grieve and to also collectively focus on solutions so that no other family anywhere has to go through what they’ve been through.”

Those parents reportedly included Toney and Brandy Roberts, who participated in the Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit and previously shared their story with CBS’s “60 Minutes.” The Robertses’ 14-year-old daughter, Englyn, committed suicide in 2020 after struggling with mental health issues; she had apparently devised the method from a video on Instagram. The video in question had circulated well into the next year before being removed by the platform; the Robertses filed suit against parent company Meta in 2022.

Meghan was asked by television personality, board member of Project Healthy Minds and event moderator Carson Daly how stories like the Robertses’ affected her as a mother.

“Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life — outside, of course, being a wife to this one,” she said, acknowledging Harry. “But I will say I feel fortunate that our children are at an age, again quite young, so this isn’t in our immediate future, but I also feel frightened at how it’s continuing to change, and this will be in front of us.”

“They say being a parent, the days are long, but the years are short, so it worries me; but I’m also given a lot of hope and energy by the progress we’ve made in the past year being able to have these incredible parents, these survivors of these experiences, share their stories and the more information gathering we’re able to do, the more we can move the needle a little bit,” Meghan continued. “Everyone is affected by the online world and social media. We all just want to feel safe. I’m confident that with more ears and awareness and visibility of what is really happening, we can make some significant change together.”

Also on the panel was Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who offered guidance on safeguarding children from the darker sides of social media.

“What we’re going to need is to work together and partner with other parents,” said Murthy. “Because it’s a lot easier to do if you are a part of a group of parents who say we’re going to do this for our kids. Whenever one of our kids say, ‘I’m the only one not on it,’ we can say, ‘No, Harry and Meghan’s kids aren’t on it either!'”

If you or someone you know are having thoughts of self-harm, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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