Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made an unexpected virtual appearance at the launch of Oprah’s latest book, where they discussed the risks associated with smartphones and social media for young children. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined a conversation with authors Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price, whose new release, *The Amazing Generation*, aims to inspire children to engage with the world beyond screens. Highlighting their ongoing concerns about digital influences on youth, Prince Harry commended the authors for their insightful research, describing it as ‘incredibly valuable.’

During the hour-long event hosted on Wednesday, American TV personality Gayle King facilitated a dialogue with the authors before introducing celebrity guests like actress Amy Schumer and influencer Tinx. King expressed her admiration for the royal couple, calling them ‘my favourite Duke and Duchess’ on two occasions. Upon their introduction, Prince Harry addressed Mr. Haidt and Ms. Price, acknowledging the significant impact of digital spaces on mental, emotional, and physical well-being. He praised their work, noting the creation of a parent-led movement that he described as both ‘astonishing and much needed.’

At this juncture, Meghan added her thoughts, expressing their pride in supporting the initiative. Prince Harry echoed her sentiments, emphasizing the importance of their insights in aiding their efforts with parents who have lost children to online dangers. He reiterated the couple’s commitment to finding solutions to protect all children. The Duke and Duchess have frequently spoken out about the harmful effects of social media, culminating in the launch of The Parents’ Network in 2024. This initiative seeks to unite families impacted by social media-related tragedies or online threats to their children.

The network was the result of a two-year pilot programme and gives support to parents in the UK, US and Canada. Later during the online event, Harry asked: ‘Can you speak to how the phone-based childhood, as you call it, affects kids’ emotional development and what families can do to support healthier patterns?’ Author of The Anxious Generation Mr Haidt (pictured) responded: ‘Kids need to play. All mammals play and once they get the device it’s going to push out everything else. They’re going to have less sleep, they’re going to stop reading books, they’re going to stop spending so much time with other kids, they’re not going to get as much sunshine, not as much exercise. So as they get more and more into a screen-based life, all the things that children need to do get pushed down and pushed out by these screen activities that are engineered for addiction.’

He added that play is vital for children to learn emotional skills and regulation, but added: ‘None of those things happen anymore. ‘Once they [children] get on, especially [to] short videos, that is so addictive it is going to push out everything else.’ Ms Price added: ‘We need to help our kids develop human skills and human relationships and both of us have done a lot of research on human flourishing, what it takes to have a meaningful and full life. And relationships, human relationships, are at the top of that.’