Meghan Markle, Prince Harry host special edition of TIME100 Talks

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hosted a special edition of TIME100 Talks, where they divulged how “loud” and “damaging” social media is.

Meghan Markle has said she stopped using social media after the negative comments became “so loud and damaging”.

The Duchess of Sussex, 39, has hosted a special edition of TIME100 Talks with her husband, Prince Harry, where they discussed the hostile state of the digital world, which they described as a “global health crisis”.

Meghan said the couple were trying to use lockdown to block out the noise and enjoy quality time with their one-year-old son, Archie.

“All things considered, everyone is grappling with a different version of the same thing,” Meghan said.

“We are trying to embrace all the quality time we get with our son and embrace very moment of his growth and development which has been really special.”

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TIME editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal then asked Prince Harry how he was doing following a tumultuous year for the royal couple.

“I think when people ask, ‘How are you?’ I sense, you know, it’s a case of ‘Really, how are you?’,” Harry said.

“Before this year, I think everyone sort of throws that term around and everyone’s satisfied with a ‘Yeah, I’m good. I’m fine, thanks.’

“And then it’s moving on to something else. But I think you’re quite right. This year, more so than ever, it really is a question of ‘No, no, no. Actually, how are you?’.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle host a special edition of TIME100 Talks.

Speaking about social media, which Meghan used for years as an actress before opening the SussexRoyal Instagram account after her 2018 wedding, the duchess conceded the “good outweighs the bad” but “the bad can be so loud”.

“The damage that happens as a result of that,” she said.

“We haven’t begun to realise the legacy and effect of these platforms and the online space and what it is doing to us on a deeper level.

“We’re in it now but we have a chance to get ourselves out of it.”

Harry added, “What is happening in the online world is affecting the world. It is not restricted to certain platforms or certain social media conversations or groups. This is a global crisis — a global crisis of hate, a global crisis of misinformation, and a global health crisis.”

The pair were involved in the TIME virtual summit overnight, where they were involved in choosing the guests and interviewing them.

Last week Meghan said social media users were like “people who are addicted to drugs” during Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Virtual Summit.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently conducted a virtual interview on International Day of the Girl.

“I have a lot of concerns for people that have become obsessed with it. And it is so much a part of our daily culture for so many people that it’s an addiction like many others,” she said.

“There are very few things in this world where you call the person who is engaging with it a user.”