In a video interview with the American magazine Fortune on Tuesday 13 October, Meghan Markle confided in her relationship with social networks, sharing her concerns about the dangers of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. But a small sentence in the duchess’ speech made her tick.
On Tuesday, October 13, Meghan Markle gave a heartfelt interview with Fortune magazine as part of a summit dedicated to the world’s most influential young women. In this live video interview from her luxurious California villa, the Duchess of Sussex defended their decision to leave the royal family, showing little regard for the Crown. She also took the opportunity to address a subject that is dear to her heart, the dangers of social networking.
Regularly attacked on the internet since her marriage to Prince Harry, Meghan has chosen to take a step back from this virtual life. “In order to protect myself, I haven’t been on social networks for a long time. I had a personal Instagram account years ago which I closed.
Then we had one via the Institution and our office which was in the UK. But we didn’t take care of it, our team did,” said one who recently declared herself to be “the world’s most troll in 2019”. And while Harry’s wife was forced to give up the Royal Sussex account after the Megxit, she is not about to return to the application: “I made a personal choice not to have any social network accounts. I don’t know what it says and it’s a good thing for me”.
A dangerous addiction
But Meghan Markle’s concerns about the dangers and excesses of the internet are not just personal. “I worry a lot about people who have developed an obsession with social networks. It has become a very important part of the daily lives of so many people.
It’s an addiction, like many others,” continued the duchess. She then drew a parallel between this addiction to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other community applications and drug addiction, using the English word ‘user’. This word means both ‘user’ and ‘drug user’ or even simply ‘drug addict’. It is part of both the vocabulary of illicit substances and social networks.
“There is very little in this world where you can call the person who uses a product a ‘user’…. People who are addicted to drugs are called ‘users’ and people on social networks are called ‘users’,” explained Meghan Markle, adding: “There is something about social networks that creates an obsession that I think is very unhealthy for many people.
A comparison between social network users and drug users that made people talk. But while several studies have shown that the abuse of social networks is harmful to our mental health, notably increasing the risk of depression, and that the development of the internet has led to a dangerous rise in virtual harassment, the Duchess’s concerns seem more justified than ever.
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