Prince Harry fears for children with access to internet and social media

Prince Harry wants to warn parents that social media could lead children to self-harm. Photo / Getty Images

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have launched a new initiative to protect children from harmful online content. Prince Harry unpacks why he is so worried about social media in a joint CBS interview with his wife Meghan Markle.

Prince Harry fears children exposed to internet “rabbit holes” could end up taking their lives “within 24 hours” of viewing harmful material.

The father of two, 39, who has son Archie, 5, and 3-year-old Lilibet with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex - who celebrated her 43rd birthday on August 4 - shared his terror about the power of the web with regard to children while launching the Parents Network campaign, which aims to secure child safety online.

He said while opening up on CBS to anchor Jane Pauley about the initiative in a joint interview with Meghan: “We always talk about in the olden days - if kids are under your roof, you know what they are up to. At least they’re safe.”

“But now, they could in the next room, [on] a tablet or phone, going down these rabbit holes, and within 24 hours they could be taking their life.”

Harry and Meghan’s pre-recorded interview, which was shown on Sunday, also showed footage of them meeting with a group of parents who lost their children to suicide.

Meghan also discussed their experience with their children and their desire to shield them from all harm.

She added: “Our kids are young - they’re 3 and 5. 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.”

Harry and Meghan have recently launched the Parents Network, which aims to secure child safety online. The pair discussed their ambitions for the network in a recent CBS interview. Photo / CBS, X

When Jane, 73, said “you hope that when your children ask for help, someone is there to give it”, Harry added only “if you know to help”.

He went on: “At this point we’ve got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder.”

“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.”

Meghan added: “You have to start somewhere. Anyone watching this or anyone able to make change needs to look through the lens of, ‘What if this was my son or daughter?’

“Your son or daughter who come home, who are joyful, who I love - and one day, right under my roof, our entire lives change because of something that’s completely out of my control.

“And if you look at it as a parent, there is no way to see it any other way than to try [to] find a solution.”