Trigger warning: This article discusses suicide. Help is always available – call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a clear mission with The Archewell Foundation: ‘show up, do good’. Since its inception, the Foundation has focussed on addressing the youth mental health crisis.
On Sunday, August 4th, which was also Meghan’s 43rd birthday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the launch of a new network aimed at helping parents whose children have been negatively affected by social media use.
In a rare joint interview with CBS Sunday Morning’s Jane Pauley, the couple discussed their new initiative The Parents’ Network.
The network, initially piloted two years ago, is now available for parents living in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
THE SCARIEST THING
During the interview, Jane brought up the scary fact that nobody is immune from online bullying, especially our children, and the consequences of that can be dire.
To that, Harry responded: “That’s one of the scariest things that we’ve learnt over the course of the last 16, 17 years that social media’s been around, and more so recently, is the fact that it could happen to absolutely anybody.
“We always talk about in the olden days if your kids were under your roof, you knew what they were up to; at least they were safe, right? And now, they could be in the next-door room on a tablet or on a phone and can be going down these rabbit holes. And before you know it, within 24 hours, they could be taking their life.”
Meghan chimed in, saying, “Our kids are young; they’re three and five. They’re amazing. But all you want to do as parents is protect them. And so, as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there. And we’re just happy to be able to be a part of change for good.”
“At this point we’ve got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder,” Prince Harry continued. “And even the best first responders in the world wouldn’t be able to tell the signs of possible suicide. That is the terrifying piece of this.”
In the interview, the former Suits actress bravely opened up about her own struggles with suicidal thoughts while she was an active member of the royal family.
“When you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey – certainly part of mine – is being able to be really open about it,” she shared.
“I really scraped the surface on my experience. But I do think that I would never want someone else to feel that way. And I would never want someone else to be making those sort of plans and I would never want someone else to not be believed.”
“So, if me voicing what I have overcome will save someone, or encourage someone in their life to really genuinely check in on them and not assume that the appearance is good, so everything’s okay, then that’s worth it. I’ll take a hit for that.”
THE PARENTS’ NETWORK
On The Parents’ Network portion of The Archewell Foundation website, the ‘Who we are’ section states: “Parents in our community share a range of experiences. Many have lost a child and are working together to navigate grief and everything that comes with it.
“Others have children who have experienced near-fatal harm, or are actively struggling with present-day issues of cyberbullying, depression and anxiety, sexual exploitation, eating disorders, and a range of other traumas related to social media use.
“Some are seeking ways to channel pain into purpose. Some are simply trying to survive – while ensuring our kids do the same.
“All of us are seeking safe, supportive environments where we can talk openly about experiences often kept under lock and key, and forge meaningful relationships with others who understand.”
It also states, “[The Parents’ Network] won’t stop fighting for change until social media companies make their platforms safer by design. One child lost, is already one too many.”
Even though The Parents’ Network isn’t available in Australia, resources like guides to help parents and carers gain a better understanding of social media sites like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are available for download here.
