MEGHAN MARKLE AGAINST SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMPARES USERS TO DRUG ADDICTS
Since stepping down from their roles as senior royals, both Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have become increasingly outspoken about a range of hot-button issues.
The couple sparked furious backlash at the end of September when they spoke out about the upcoming US election.
And now, despite spending many years herself as a prolific Instagram user, Markle has recently insisted that all social media users are like "people who are addicted to drugs".
Markle made the bold comparison during her appearance on Fortune's Most Powerful Women Next Gen Virtual Summit on Tuesday afternoon. The virtual summit was an online event that was reserved only for invited guests who were willing to pay a $1,750 fee.
Markle stated that; "There are very few things in this world where you call the person who's engaging with it 'a user'. People who are addicted to drugs are called users and people who are on social media are called users. There is something algorithmically that is in there that is creating this obsession that I think is very unhealthy for a lot of people. 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 is an addiction."
“Something, algorithmically, is creating this obsession.”
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) October 13, 2020
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex warns against the pitfalls of social media addiction during a conversation at the #FortuneMPW Next Gen Summit. https://t.co/hhyvMGAoyf pic.twitter.com/eKpB0U38AW
Before her marriage to Harry, Markle spent many years managing her own social media accounts. She also used it as a platform to promote her work as an actress, where she shared many personal aspects of her life such as food photos, vacation snaps and even her relationship with Prince Harry when the two first met.
However, Meghan had to make the decision to close down her accounts back in 2018 after her engagement announcement to Prince Harry.
Despite sharing an official Sussex Royal account with Prince Harry after they got married, Markle seemed to set herself apart from the group of social media users. The mother-of-one also revealed at the summit that she did not manage their Sussex Royal account, and insisted that it was handled by a special team instead. However, the account was closed down after the couple made the decision to quit their roles in the royal family.
After revealing that she was the most trolled person on social media in 2019, Markle urged people who are using social media to rather build their brands or engage with their friends and to "be conscious of what you are doing". She also said that users need to "understand that it is not limited to that one moment, you are creating an echo chamber for yourself. So the more you engage with things that are negative, not just for other people that might not know, but what it’s doing to you as a human being."
The online event, however, is the latest in a long line of summit appearances made by Markle. She has made six digital appearances in October where she served as a speaker at the latest virtual summit, attended her first podcast, and did a pre-recorded conversation with Nobel laureate, Malala Yousafzai.