Prince Harry And Meghan Call Out The Harmful Effects Of Social Media On Today’s Youth

The guests sipped prosecco and chattered distant while dessert was served astatine nan 3rd yearly Project Health Minds Gala on Thursday.  

The evening was winding down, but location was still 1 large grant to springiness out: Humanitarian of nan Year, which this twelvemonth would beryllium honoring Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, for creating The Parents Network done their nonprofit Archewell Foundation. The Parents Network supports families who person been harmed by social media.  

Earlier this year, it hosted an arena wherever nan faces of young children were shown connected elephantine smartphone screens; nan children had mislaid their lives successful ways their parents judge societal media contributed to.  

Thursday’s Gala was hosted by the nonprofit Project Healthy Minds, which provides free entree to intelligence wellness services, particularly focusing connected young group who are struggling successful a world dominated by technology. The event, and nan convention nan pursuing day, gave a look into really young group and their parents are seeing societal media, and revealed really sedate nan effect these platforms person had connected intelligence health.  

“Let maine stock a number pinch you,” Prince Harry said as he and his wife took nan shape to accept the award. “Four thousand. That’s how galore families nan Social Media Victims Law Center is presently representing.”  

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 09: (L-R) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Phil Schermer, nan president of task patient minds Image Credits:Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds) / Getty Images

That number only represents the parents who person been capable to nexus their child’s harm to societal media and who person nan capacity to “fight backmost against immoderate of nan wealthiest, astir powerful corporations successful nan world,” he said.  

“We person witnessed nan detonation of unregulated artificial intelligence, heard much and much stories from heartbroken families, and watched parents each complete nan world go progressively concerned astir their children’s integer lives,” Prince Harry continued.  

He said these families were up against corporations and lobbyists that were spending millions to suppress nan truth; that algorithms were designed to “maximize information postulation astatine any cost,” and said that societal media was preying upon children.  

Then, he called retired Apple for its user privacy violations and Meta for saying privacy restrictions would cost them billions. He said astir nan harms of AI and what happened erstwhile researchers, posing arsenic children, tested out an progressively celebrated AI chatbot. “They experienced a harmful relationship each 5 minutes,” he said.  

“This wasn’t contented created by a 3rd party,” he continued. “These were nan company’s ain chatbots moving to beforehand their ain depraved soul policies.”

The large announcement of nan nighttime was that The Parents Network would partner with ParentsTogether, different statement focused connected family defense and online safety, to do much activity protecting children from societal media.  

This is not nan first clip Prince Harry, successful particular, has spoken retired astir societal media harms. Back successful April, nan prince visited younker leaders successful Brooklyn to talk to them astir nan rising influence of tech platforms, which person been incentivized by profit alternatively than safety. In January, he and Meghan also called retired Meta for undermining free speech after nan level announced it would make changes to its fact-checking policy.  

Their thoughts astir nan power of tech companies do not beryllium successful isolation.

Numerous studies person shown nan antagonistic effect societal media is having connected young people, creating a intelligence health crisis and fueling a loneliness epidemic. The adjacent day, connected Friday, World Mental Health Day, Project Healthy Minds threw a show talk astir intelligence health. For a fewer of those panels, Project Health Minds teamed up pinch Prince Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation to clasp discussions pinch parents, advocates, and experts astir really societal media has rewritten and rewritten childhood.

Following nan Gala was a show astir Mental Health  

The first sheet was simply called “How Are Young People Doing successful nan Digital Age,” was introduced by Harry.  

One panelist, Katie, said astir really erstwhile she was conscionable 12 years old, TikTok would fill her For You page pinch videos astir dieting and losing weight; Katie ultimately developed an eating disorder.  

Another panelist was Isabel Sunderland, nan argumentation lead for nan statement Design It For Us, which pushes for safer social media.  

She recalls 1 time coming crossed an article astir nan Myanmar genocide, to which Meta’s platform, Facebook, was later accused of contributing. The article led her down a rabbit spread arsenic she sought to understand really nan platforms she uses each day could beryllium utilized arsenic devices that foment “hate and violence.” She ever thought it was her responsibility that she encountered content regarding harmful topics for illustration eating disorders.  

“What I came to find done this investigation is that successful fact, it’s designed by societal media companies to summation addiction and clip spent connected their platforms,” she said.  

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 10: (L-R) Jiore Craig, Aileen Arreaza, Jayla Stokesberry, Isabel Sunderland, and Katie S. speak onstage during “Surviving Or Thriving: How Are Young People Doing In The Digital Age?” astatine nan Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day Festival astatine Spring Studios. Image Credits:Rob Kim/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds / Getty Images

The adjacent panel, focused connected childhood, said further astir the harm social media is causing children. It was introduced by Meghan and moderated by journalist Katie Couric. 

It began pinch Jonathan Haidt, nan writer of nan best-selling book and controversial book, The Anxious Generation, presenting his findings. 

Anxiety is up. Depression is up. Children are struggling successful school. More children find their lives to be meaningless. There is nary much outside playtime. They aren’t learning societal cues because they aren’t going outside. Boys are being led down nan way to gambling addictions. Young people don’t know really to grip conflict successful existent life because they aren’t spending clip successful existent life — only online.  

And while states are trying to pass legislation, it hasn’t been without a conflict — the tech lobby’s are moving hard.  

“Play is astir encephalon development,” Haidt told Couric connected nan panel. “When animals are deprived of play successful early childhood, they travel retired overmuch much anxious successful adulthood.”  

There is moreover a lessening of due boredom time — those moments 1 spends looking retired nan model during a car thrust aliases staring aimlessly up while waiting successful a queue. Those moments gave nan encephalon clip to rest and person now been replaced by scrolling connected tablets and smartphones.  

Amy Neville, nan organization head of The Parents’ Network and President of nan Alexander Neville Foundation, joined nan panel. She mislaid her son, Alexander, to an overdose, and is suing Snapchat for providing drug dealers access to her son.  

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 10: (L-R) Katie Couric and Jonathan Haidt during “How The Great Rewiring Of Childhood Caused An International Mental Health Crisis, And How We Can Reverse It” astatine nan Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day Festival astatine Spring Studios connected October 10, 2025 successful New York City.Image Credits:Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds / Getty Images

“I quickly realized that families each complete nan United States were waking up, uncovering their kids dormant successful their bedrooms from pills purchased disconnected of Snapchat,” she said. Her suit is moving forward. “I consciousness like it’s a conflict to nan death,” she said. “I’m consenting to spell there.”  

Another mother, Kirsten, took nan stage. She is nan mother of nan young woman Katie, who sat connected the previous panel. She said astir really she thought she was doing everything correct — checking her daughter’s telephone each nighttime and putting it distant earlier she went to sleep. Katie still ended up successful nan hospital, though, pinch an eating disorder.  

Kirsten went done matter messages and search history. Someone past sent her an article astir really TikTok is showing young girls’ eating upset content.  

“My hubby and I, we didn’t know astir nan For You page,” she said. “This was not contented that my girl was seeking, but alternatively contented that was coming to her connected repeat.”  

The statement of that sheet — arsenic pinch some events — was much action.  

Throughout nan event, people called for much legislative action, much accountability from tech platforms, more speaking, and more group banding together to put boundaries betwixt them and societal media. Though harm is said to capable nan presence, hope remains around the corner.  

“We tin and we will build nan activity that all families and each children deserve,” Meghan said at the Gala. “We cognize that erstwhile parents travel together, erstwhile communities unite, waves are made. We’ve seen it happen, and we’re watching it grow.”