Duchess Meghan Markle spoke to American teenagers about the dangers of social media, stressing that bullying is a form of aggression that can have lifelong consequences. Meghan stated that on social media she herself is one of the most bullied people in the world. The event was held earlier this month in Santa Barbara, California, and is part of a wider program to support digital wellbeing in the US, co-funded by the Sussex-based Archewell Foundation.
Meghan Markle spoke to American teenagers about the dangers of social media. Source: archive
Larissa May, founder of the campaign group #HalfTheStory, said that a lot of things were talked about during the meeting, a lot of stories and scenarios were exposed with direct reference to bullying, online aggression and abuse. “In the activity we talked about a bunch of scenarios and Meghan talked about being one of the most bullied people in the world. We gave the children some cards on which several emoticons were drawn and we asked them to show us through them how the stories affect them emotionally”.
The Sussex-based Archewell Foundation has joined forces with Pivotal, a philanthropic organization founded by Melinda Gates and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation to fund the ‘Social Media U’ programme.
To highlight the initiative, the Duchess joined what was described as a no screens, no online games, no social media afternoon. “Just with friendship bracelets, coloring and some honest chats about social media. ultimately, we thought the best way to do this was to create a space of vulnerability. We talked about what it really means to grow up in this digital age.” Larissa May also stated.
Meghan Markle exposed her own story. She testified that most of the harassment and abuse she was subjected to on social media occurred while she was pregnant with her children, Archie and Lilibet. “It’s not ugly, it’s cruel,” she said in the same context, at an event that took place in March in Texas.
Meghan Markle, accused of bullying by two employees
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle have campaigned for tighter controls on the digital sphere. In August, they launched the Parents’ Network, a resource for parents whose children have suffered on social media. Last month, Prince Harry gave a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, in which he took his phone from his jacket pocket and said: “My lock screen is a picture of my kids. Which is yours?”
Images of young people on mobile phone lock screens appeared on the large screen behind him as he continued his speech: “These children and thousands more have meant the world to their families. Their beautiful faces you see in front of you, their smiles, their dreams, all lost, too soon and all because of social media.”
The duchess herself was the subject of a bullying complaint in 2018. Several former employees of Meghan Markle claimed they were repeatedly harassed by the duchess of Sussex. Although their identities have not been revealed, their stories have been published in The Sunday Times. They claimed they were the victims of bullying and that Meghan’s attitude even led two of them to leave the Palace.
The same publication reported that the couple’s former communications secretary, Jason Knauf, filed a complaint in October 2018 trying to get the royals to protect their staff. The findings of the official investigation into how authorities handled the allegations have been kept secret.
