Harry and Meghan warn of social media impact on young people’s mental health

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have stepped out together on World Mental Health Day to warn of the impact of social media on young people.

Harry, speaking at a Project Healthy Minds event in New York City on Friday, claimed that the digital world has “fundamentally changed how we experience reality”.

Meanwhile, Meghan spoke about the couple’s charity, the Archewell Foundation, and its work with families affected by social media harms, saying that healing depends on shared experience rather than isolation.

The pair received an award for their humanitarian work at an event on Thursday evening.

Harry, speaking about the widespread nature of mental health issues, said: “These are not separate problems for separate people.

“They are interlocking injuries to our global community. Mental health is shaped by public health, foreign policy, climate policy, corporate design, and economic choices.

“Too often, decisions made by a few powerful actors ripple across the planet and into every aspect of our lives.”

He added that the digital world has “fundamentally changed how we experience reality — young people exposed to relentless comparison, harassment, misinformation and an attention economy designed to keep us scrolling at the expense of sleep and real human contact.”

Meghan said the Archewell Foundation met families whose lives had been devastated by to social media-driven suicide.

She emphasised that bereaved parents needed more than traditional therapy, saying: “The parents who lost children to social media didn’t just need therapy – they needed other parents who understood their specific grief.

“When these parents came together, they weren’t just sharing stories, they were creating a movement.”

She added: “While the research is sobering, the solutions are within reach — especially when parents, advocates and communities come together.”

On Thursday, the duchess said that the couple often discussed how they would protect their own children, six-year-old Archie and Lili, four, as they grow older.

Harry and Meghan’s comments come a day after the Princess of Wales warned about the “epidemic of disconnection” created by smartphones and other gadgets.

Kate aired her concerns about the problems posed by modern technology at the expense of family life in an essay written in collaboration with Professor Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development.