The Duchess of Sussex has spoken about an issue close to her heart and own family life, that of creating a safer online world for children.
Along with her husband Prince Harry, Meghan talked about the important subject at 'The Archewell Foundation Parents' Summit: Mental Wellness in a Digital Age’ in New York on World Mental Health Day, referencing her own experience as a mother to Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two.
Joined by grieving parents who have tragically lost children in connection with their social media use, as well as experts and NBC's Carson Daly, who is a board member of Project Healthy Minds, the royals spoke of the need for positive change in online safety.
Meghan said: "Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life… outside of course, being a wife to this one [Prince 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 by 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 a lot of energy by the progress we've made in the past year."
© GettySpeaking about the families she had met who have sadly lost children, she explained: “A year ago we met some of the families, not all of them. At that time, it was impossible to not be in tears as I’m sure so many of you have been today hearing these stories.
“As parents, our kids are really young – they’re two-and-a-half and four-and-a-half – but social media is not going away.
“I think by design, there is an entry point that is supposed to be positive, in creating community and something has devolved, and there is no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard.”
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© GettyMeghan also spoke about how social media platforms are designed and their in-built parental controls.
"Many of the platforms that we've had conversations quietly behind the scenes with these tech executives, and they do feel that they have created and they have, many of them, created parental controls and certain guardrails, much of which many parents, if you aren't tech savvy, you can't navigate that comfortably, it feels pretty overwhelming.
"So there has to be a better solution than that, of course."
She added: "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."
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