Prince Harry Says “Harmful Effects of Social Media Are Made by Design”

Prince Harry spoke out about the dangers of social media and its harmful impact on children Tuesday, calling on shareholders of social media companies and parents to demand change.

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Speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative in Manhattan, the Duke of Sussex said young people were being “disproportionately affected” by negative experiences online, calling it an “epidemic” in which the bad experiences are also met with the spread of unreliable information. Harry claimed that social networks are not doing enough to solve the problem, which said can lead to children feeling “isolated, confused and scared” or worse.

“Some say kids will be kids and that may well be true. Kids may get into trouble. I know a thing or two about that,” he said. “But our kids are being targeted. The harmful effects of social media are made by design. While we involve both youth and parents, we must also hold digital platforms accountable,” he said, adding that he feels companies are currently being held to the “lowest ethical standards.”

The comments come shortly after The Archewell Foundation, founded by Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, launched The Parents Network, an initiative to support parents whose children have been impacted or died after negative experiences online. The Duke of Sussex spoke in front of pictures of children who he said had been “lost all too soon” due to social media.

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In addition to providing support, the company also plans to work with youth and parents to find solutions to combatting online negative experiences and has partnered with The World Health Organization. Harry highlighted the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, which is set to take place in Colombia this fall, as a possible venue for creating the first global agreement to focus on ending online violence against children.

“We need a better digital future, one that we all deserve. We were promised a human experience, instead we’ve been a human experiment,” the Duke of Sussex continued. “This is an invitation to each and every one of you to open your eyes and ears and hearts to these realities and to channel our power, resources and intelligence toward meaningful action. All we have today in this moment stems from the defiance of boundaries we once thought existed. We split the atom, we walked on the moon.We are more than equipped to tackle this. The future of our world, our youth depend on it.”

The Duke of Sussex appeared as one part of a broader session at the CGI annual meeting about finding solutions to global problems that also included former President Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres, conservationist Jane Goodall and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs.

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