Prince Harry Admits His Major Concerns for Archie in New Article for 'Fast Company'

Prince Harry describes the "crisis of truth" as created by social media platforms, and expressed particular fear about this as a father to Archie Harrison. 

  • As a cause that's close to his heart (and will likely continue to be an important component of Archewell), Prince Harry wrote an impassioned and personal article in Fast Company.
  • In it, he describes the "crisis of truth" as created by social media platforms, and expressed particular fear about this as a father to Archie Harrison.
  • ICYMI, Harry apparently once had a private Facebook account way back in 2008 to 2012, so he knows about the platforms he's discussing.

In a new article in Fast Company titled, "Social media is dividing us. Together, we can redesign it," Prince Harry is continuing the work he and Meghan Markle have begun, and which will likelycontinue to be an important cause via their new nonprofit Archewell. And contained within the moving, impassioned piece was a surprisingly personal reference to his role as a father to his 15-month-old son Archie.

The article begins with a reference to Harry and Meghan's support of the Facebook boycott campaign. "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.

"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."

The article then goes on to urge companies to "[draw] a line in the sand" against unacceptable online practices and work to remodel the online space to be more driven by compassion and empathy:

"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."

prince harry, duke of sussex, meghan, duchess of sussex and their baby son archie mountbatten windsor meet archbishop desmond tutu and his daughter thandeka tutu gxashe at the desmond leah tutu legacy foundation during their royal tour of south africa on september 25, 2019 in cape town, south africa photo by toby melvillepoolsamir husseinwireimage

(Image credit: Pool/Samir Hussein)

The whole piece is worth a read, honestly—it's both compelling and clearly personal to the royal.

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Katherine J. Igoe
Contributor

Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.