Meghan Markle compares social media users to ‘drug addicts’

Meghan Markle compares social media users to ‘DRUG ADDICTS’ – despite once being an avid Instagram fan – and refers to the Royal Family only as ‘the institution’ as she takes part in $1,750 virtual summit

  • Meghan, 39, took part in the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Virtual Summit on Tuesday afternoon 
  • The theme of her 15-minute talk was ‘courageous leadership’ and how the Duchess of Sussex ‘leads on the global stage’
  • Meghan spent much of the conversation speaking about the dangers of social media, drawing a lengthy comparison between online users and drug addicts 
  • Despite spending many years running a personal Instagram account and a lifestyle blog called The Tig, Meghan insisted she no longer uses social media 
  • Before she closed her Instagram account in 2018, Meghan had amassed more than 1.9 million followers  
  • While discussing the official Sussex Royal account that she and Harry used, the mother-of-one claimed that they didn’t manage it
  • During the digital conversation, Meghan also referred to the royal family simply as ‘the institution’ 
  • She then addressed her son Archie, insisting that she feels an obligation as a mother to ‘make [the world] a better place for him’ 
  • ‘Everything I’m doing is for Archie, our son,’ Meghan said

Meghan Markle has insisted that all social media users are like ‘people who are addicted to drugs’ during her latest virtual summit appearance – despite spending many years as a prolific Instagram user. 

The 39-year-old drew the bold, and somewhat hypocritical, comparison during the Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Virtual Summit on Tuesday afternoon – an online event that was reserved for invited guests willing to pay a $1,750 fee. 

‘There are very few things in this world where you call the person who’s engaging with it “a user”. People who are addicted to drugs are called users and people who are on social media are called users,’ Meghan said.  

Warning: Meghan Markle made a bold comparison between social media users and drug addicts during her latest virtual summit appearance on Tuesday 

Vocal: Speaking from the $14 million California home she shares with Prince Harry and their son Archie, the 39-year-old said social media has the same capacity for addiction as drugs

Vocal: Speaking from the $14 million California home she shares with Prince Harry and their son Archie, the 39-year-old said social media has the same capacity for addiction as drugs

‘There is something algorithmically that is in there that is creating this obsession that I think is very unhealthy for a lot of people. 

‘I have a lot of concerns for people that have become obsessed with it and it is so much a part of our daily culture for so many people that it is an addiction.’ 

Meghan added that she believes social media had the ‘same capacity’ for causing addiction as drugs do. 

Interestingly, the Duchess of Sussex seemed to set herself apart from this group, telling Fortune associate editor Emma Hinchliffe that she has ‘not been on social media for a very long time’ – despite sharing an official Sussex Royal account with Prince Harry for several years before they stepped down as senior royals. 

Prior to meeting her now-husband Harry, 36, Meghan also spent many years managing her own personal social media accounts, which she often used to promote her work as an actress, as well as her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig. 

She shared many personal aspects of her life – including food photos and vacation snaps – and even alluded to her relationship with Prince Harry in its earliest days by sharing a photo of love hearts soon after the couple met for the first time.   

When she took the decision to close down her social media accounts in 2018, after announcing her engagement to Prince Harry – Meghan had amassed 1.9 million followers on Instagram, and she also had an official Facebook and Twitter page that were both closed at the same time.    

Hypocritical? Interestingly, Meghan spent many years as an avid Instagram user, regularly posting personal photos on her account - which had 1.9 million followers when it was closed

Hypocritical? Interestingly, Meghan spent many years as an avid Instagram user, regularly posting personal photos on her account – which had 1.9 million followers when it was closed

Personal: The Duchess of Sussex insisted that 'for her self preservation' she no longer uses social media, having shut down her personal accounts in 2018 after her engagement

Personal: The Duchess of Sussex insisted that ‘for her self preservation’ she no longer uses social media, having shut down her personal accounts in 2018 after her engagement

Criticism? While discussing the official Sussex Royal account she shared with Prince Harry, Meghan referred to the Royal Family only as 'the institution'

Criticism? While discussing the official Sussex Royal account she shared with Prince Harry, Meghan referred to the Royal Family only as ‘the institution’ 

Meghan and Harry then began sharing near-daily posts on their official Sussex Royal Instagram account, which they set up to have their own social media presence away from Prince William and Kate’s Kensington Royal profile. 

However, the mother-of-one told the summit that ‘for her own self preservation’ she ‘has not been on social media for a very long time’, insisting that she did not manage the Sussex Royal account, which was handled instead by a special team. 

The former Suits star also seemed to deal a thinly-veiled blow to the royals, referring only to her husband’s family only as ‘the institution’ while discussing the couple’s official Instagram account, which was shut down shortly after they quit their roles and moved to the US.

‘We had [an Instagram account] through the institution and our office that was in the UK. But that wasn’t managed by us that was a whole team,’ Meghan said, adding that she has ‘made a personal choice to not have any account’.    

‘I have made a personal choice to not have any account, so I don’t know what’s out there and in many ways that’s helpful for me,’ Meghan said of her decision not to engage with social media.   

Step back: Harry and Meghan shut down their Sussex Royal Instagram account when they quit thir roles as senior royals and moved to the US, and have not yet rejoined social media

Step back: Harry and Meghan shut down their Sussex Royal Instagram account when they quit thir roles as senior royals and moved to the US, and have not yet rejoined social media