Prince Harry Says Social Media Makes Him Worry for His Son Archie
Prince Harry is diligently working on making social media a better place by collaborating with organizations to improve the digital landscape.
Harry is so passionate about social media because he doesn't want his son, Archie Harrison, to grow up seeing how hateful it can be.
Since leaving the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been continuing their charitable efforts and working on their non-profit organization, Archewell. And now that Harry has a little more time on his hands these days, Prince Harry wrote an article for Fast Company titled, "Social media is dividing us. Together, we can redesign it," in which he voiced concerns over online practices and how they could potentially affect his son, Archie Harrison.
Harry first shared that he and Meghan began working to better social media by partnering with the NAACP's "Stop Hate for Profit" Facebook boycott campaign to quell hate speech on the internet.
"A little over four weeks ago, my wife and I started calling business leaders, heads of major corporations, and chief marketing officers at brands and organizations we all use in our daily lives," he wrote. "Our message was clear: The digital landscape is unwell and companies like yours have the chance to reconsider your role in funding and supporting online platforms that have contributed to, stoked, and created the conditions for a crisis of hate, a crisis of health, and a crisis of truth."
Harry then urged social media companies to take a stand by "[drawing] a line in the sand" when it comes to rude online behavior, and for the companies to do everything in their power to create safer spaces that prioritize respect and compassion. Harry said the state of social media right now causes him to worry about Archie specifically:
"Companies that purchase online ads must also recognize that our digital world has an impact on the physical world—on our collective health, on our democracies, on the ways we think and interact with each other, on how we process and trust information. Because, if we are susceptible to the coercive forces in digital spaces, then we have to ask ourselves—what does this mean for our children? As a father, this is especially concerning to me."
Of course, Harry could do his best to limit Archie's time online when he reaches a certain age, but it speaks volumes that he's doing the legwork now to create a better internet for his son. Archie is a lucky boy. :')
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