Warning: This article contains discussions of suicide.
Prince Harry wants you to get off social media. Not because he’s upset people are talking about the “power-hungry” behavior he and his wife Meghan Markle are allegedly exhibiting behind closed doors, but because of a harmful “epidemic” spreading among today’s youth.
According to a report from The Associated Press, Harry spoke of his concerns regarding social media during the September 2024 Clinton Global Initiative meeting. During his speech, he shared photos of children who had died by suicide due to experiences using social media and shared his lock screen wallpaper of his children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3. “Parenting doesn’t end with the birth of a child,” he said while detailing the negative impact social media can have on children. “We have a duty and a responsibility to see our creations through.”
Harry spoke of the crisis children who use social media are facing, calling it an “epidemic” of depression, anxiety, and social isolation. “Young people are kept there by mindless, endless, numbing scrolling — being force-fed content that no child should ever be exposed to,” he said of social media, which he likened to an addiction. “This is not free will.”
Harry’s qualms with the media aside, he’s right that social media too often exposes users to unpleasant and dangerous content. Adults and celebrities are not immune to experiencing the internet’s horrors and all too often, social media companies blame users and their parents. During the CGI meeting, Harry pleaded with corporate shareholders to force the issue with companies that he believes are held to the “lowest ethical standards.”
In August, Harry and Meghan introduced their new initiative, the Parents’ Network, a free support service offering “support to parents whose children have suffered from the negative effects of social media.” Meghan has opened up about her own struggles with mental health and how Royal family drama led her to consider suicide. “I would never want someone else to feel that way. And I would never want someone else to be making those sorts of plans and I would never want someone else to not be believed.”
Social media is often cited as causing young children and teens to develop depression and anxiety. Platforms like TikTok have come under fire for spreading misinformation, hateful rhetoric, and unrealistic beauty standards through the usage of filters that alter a user’s facial features like the Bold Glamour filter.
Mitch Prinstein, the chief science officer at the American Psychological Association, testified about the dangers affecting youth online before the U.S. Senate Committee and shared that one in five teenagers seriously considered suicide during the 2020 pandemic. In that same testimony, he shared that suicide is the second leading cause of death for American youth. It’s clear that something has to change to protect young people while still allowing them to develop healthy social lives online or off.
If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please consider contacting the National Suicide Prevention Helpline: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
