Why Meghan Markle Is Afraid for Her Children's Mental Health

Meghan Markle has voiced her fears about the impact of social media on her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, warning: "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 last year."

Prince Harry and Meghan returned to New York for the first time since a run-in with the paparazzi that their spokesperson described as a "near catastrophic" two-hour chase.

Early indications suggest a slightly more sedate visit this time around, as they spoke to students at a Brooklyn school before arriving at the World Mental Health Day Festival, put on by Project Healthy Minds on Tuesday.

The couple arrived in a seven-car convoy with a police escort before joining Carson Daly on stage to discuss online harm.

"As parents, though our kids are really young, they're two and a half and four and a half," Meghan told the audience, "but social media is not going away.

"I think by design, there was an entry point that was supposed to be positive in creating community and something has devolved, and there's no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard.

"My husband and I often say if there's going to be so much focus on what we're doing then try to focus on what we're focusing on," she added, in reference to their efforts to draw attention to the negative aspects of digital media.

"Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life... outside of course being a wife to this one," she said, indicating 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. As 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 last year."

Christopher Bouzy was a guest on the couple's Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary after investigating online hate targeting Meghan.

"Meghan's assertion that social media is harming the mental health of children and teenagers is undeniably true," he told Newsweek. "But I would like to emphasize that it also takes a toll on the mental health of adults.

"Social media platforms must be mandated by law to take more substantial measures to shield their users from the harmful elements of social media, particularly younger users."

Bouzy is cofounder of data firm Bot Sentinel, but also set up his own social media company, Spoutible, in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover of X, formerly Twitter.

And he suggested the couple—who previously quit social media over its toxic culture—could use a return to the digital world to lead users to more positive platforms.

"This is precisely why I launched Spoutible.com," he said. "I wanted to provide a safe haven from the toxicity that has sadly become prevalent on larger social media platforms and prove it can be done at scale.

"I hope that when the Duke and Duchess decide to re-engage with social media, they choose platforms like Spoutible over platforms primarily driven by profit and the exploitation of the worst aspects of human behavior."

Meghan and Harry's last visit to New York took them to Ziegfeld Ballroom for the Ms. Foundations' Women of Vision awards gala in May.

However, as they left the event accompanied by Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, their car was followed by photographers.

A statement from the spokesperson at the time read: "Last night the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.

"This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers. While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone's safety."

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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