{"id":487581,"date":"2025-10-10T05:59:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T05:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/487581\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T05:59:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T05:59:12","slug":"harry-calls-social-medias-impact-on-children-one-of-the-most-pressing-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/487581\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry calls social media\u2019s impact on children \u2018one of the most pressing issues\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 jEZjIj\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 jEZjIj\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 jEZjIj\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p><strong class=\"sc-1uza6dc-1 gunhQQ\">Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong>Read more<\/p>\n<p>The Duke of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/sussex\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sussex<\/a> has warned that the impact of social media on children is \u201cone of the most pressing issues of our time\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Harry and his wife the Duchess of Sussex were speaking at the Project Healthy Minds Gala in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York<\/a>, where they received an award for their humanitarian work.<\/p>\n<p>Citing that 4,000 families are taking legal action through the Social Media Victims Law Centre, the duke said more needed to be done to protect young people from online dangers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTonight, we are all here together to focus on what remains one of the most pressing issues of our time,\u201d Harry said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me share a number with you: 4,000. That\u2019s how many families the Social Media Victims Law Centre is currently representing \u2013 families whose children have been harmed or lost forever to social media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFour thousand cases at just one firm. And that number represents only those parents who have been able to link their child\u2019s circumstance to social media use.<\/p>\n<p>He continued: \u201cParents who have learned legal action is possible, who have the capacity to pursue it while grieving, and parents who\u2019ve found their way to help in the fight back against some of the wealthiest, most powerful corporations in the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd even after this there may be no road to closure for grieving parents because these companies refuse to disclose their child\u2019s information and activity on their platforms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf these were unintended consequences 10 years ago, what are they now?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a pivotal moment in our collective mission to protect children and support families in the digital age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/meghan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meghan<\/a> added that the couple often discussed how they would protect their own children, six-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/archie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Archie<\/a> and Lili, four, as they grow older.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike so many parents, we think constantly about how to embrace technology\u2019s benefits while safeguarding against its dangers,\u201d the duchess said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat hopeful intention of separation is rapidly becoming impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The couple\u2019s Archewell Foundation announced that its Parents\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/network\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Network<\/a> initiative is joining forces with ParentsTogether, a non-profit organisation dedicated to family advocacy and online safety.<\/p>\n<p>The move comes as the duke warned of \u201cthe explosion of unregulated artificial intelligence\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs our network grew, we\u2019ve seen the full scope of what we\u2019re facing,\u201d Harry added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have witnessed the explosion of unregulated artificial intelligence, heard more and more stories from heartbroken families, and watched parents all over the world become increasingly concerned about their children\u2019s digital lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we learned that thousands of families from every corner of society were facing the same challenges, many learning for the first time that it was actually social media that took their child, we knew this movement needed to grow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese families are not only up against corporations and lobbyists, many of whom spend tens of millions of dollars every year in suppressing the truth, but also algorithms designed to maximise data collection at any cost.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd their kids? They weren\u2019t struggling with mental health issues, they weren\u2019t distinctly vulnerable, they were preyed upon.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[7709,7721,7719,7718,7720,1281,447,7710,519,7711],"class_list":{"0":"post-487581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-british-royal-family","9":"tag-duchess-of-sussex","10":"tag-duke-of-sussex","11":"tag-harry","12":"tag-meghan","13":"tag-meghan-markle","14":"tag-prince-harry","15":"tag-royal-families","16":"tag-royal-family","17":"tag-uk-royal-family"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115348344959277003","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}