Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say social media is harming kids' mental health

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle called for social media platforms to adopt better content-moderation policies and other fixes.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Tuesday called for social media platforms to adopt better content-moderation policies and other fixes, saying modifications need to be made to addictive apps that can harm young people's mental health.

The couple spoke at a panel discussion coordinated by their Archewell Foundation in New York City as part of a second annual mental health awareness festival hosted by a nonprofit called Project Healthy Minds.

Harry and Meghan’s comments came after hearing from panels featuring a handful of parents who lost children due to mental health challenges tied to social media use. The parents spoke about their loss and how a community that the foundation has created to talk about these issues is helping them find support.

Harry said the foundation has been bringing parents together through Zoom during the past year because many of them didn’t have the opportunity to connect with others who’ve gone through a similar tragedy.

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“For us, the priority here is to turn pain into purpose,” Harry said at the panel, which also featured Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and was moderated by NBC host Carson Daly.

Harry said he and Meghan also want to “provide as much support, spotlight and platform for these parents to come together, to heal together, to grieve together and collectively focus on solutions so that no other family anywhere has to go through what they’ve been through.”