Meghan Markle spoke out on Tuesday to reveal why she has stayed off social media completely in recent years.
While participating in a virtual chat with “Fortune” for its “Most Powerful Next Gen Summit,” Meghan revealed how she’s learned to “chase her convictions with action.”
“It’s not easy. That’s the first place all of us have to start with. Sometimes making the best decision for yourself and your family might not be the most popular one,” Meghan said as she spoke from her home in Santa Barbara, California.
“My faith is greater than my fear,” Meghan added, according to People Magazine [1]. “It has to be greater than whatever fears are hindering you from taking that step.”
The 39 year-old went on to talk about how important she feels it is for her to be able to use her voice, something she was not able to do as a senior working member of the royal family.
“Your voice matters,” Meghan explained. “You realize it more when you are not able to exercise it. Regardless of my experience over the last few years compared to anyone’s experience, you can’t take for granted the ability you have as a woman to be able to be heard, and now with the platform that people have on social media to actually have that voice heard for a larger audience, I think it’s a huge responsibility.”
That’s when she shifted to talking about why she has avoided social media for years.
“For my own self-preservation, I have not been on social media for a very long time,” she said. “I had a personal account years ago, which I closed down and then we had one through the institution and our office that was in the U.K. that wasn’t managed by us —that was a whole team — and so I think that comes with the territory for the job you have.”
“I’ve made a personal choice to not have any account, so I don’t know what’s out there, and many ways that’s helpful for me,” Meghan added. “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’s an addiction like many others. There are very few things in this world where you call the person who is engaging with it a user.”
“Something, algorithmically, is creating this obsession.”
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex warns against the pitfalls of social media addiction during a conversation at the #FortuneMPW [2] Next Gen Summit. https://t.co/hhyvMGAoyf [3] pic.twitter.com/eKpB0U38AW [4]
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) October 13, 2020 [5]
Meghan was then asked how motherhood has changed her views on leadership.
“It’s interesting because my gut is that it makes you more courageous, it makes you so concerned for the world they’re going to inherit,” she said. “So the things you’re able to tolerate on your own are not the same that you are going to put your child in a position of vulnerability for. You go every single day — how can I make this world better for Archie? That is a shared belief for my husband and I.
“At the same time, I am cautious of putting my family at risk by certain things. I try to be very clear in what I say and not get controversial and instead talk about things that seem very straight forward, like exercising your right to vote,” Meghan said. “I think that’s as simple as it comes and as necessary as it comes and to that point as a parent, I can enjoy all the fun and silliness and games with my son, but I wouldn’t be able to feel proud of myself as a mom if I didn’t know that I wasn’t doing my part to make it a better place for him.”
In the end, Meghan feels like she has a lot to look forward to right now.
This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com [6] and is used by permission.
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