Meghan: I don't know what people say about me on social media
Meghan closed her personal accounts before her marriage and the official Sussex Royal accounts are managed by other people.
Wednesday 14 October 2020 06:49, UK
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she has no social media accounts for her "own self-preservation".
Meghan, who left the UK with her husband Prince Harry earlier this year, says she has no idea what is being said about her online.
She told Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit: "For my own self-preservation, I have not been on social media for a very long time.
"I 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."
The 39-year-old was an actress with an extensive social media presence before she met Harry.
But she closed her personal accounts in the months before their marriage in 2018 - and the official Sussex Royal Instagram and Twitter accounts are managed by other people.
She told the summit: "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, and you know, 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 and there is something algorithmically that is in there that is creating this obsession and I think it's very unhealthy for a lot of people."
The duchess also said she is cautious about revealing "controversial" opinions due to fears of putting her family at risk, adding that she tends to choose topics that are "fairly straightforward".
When asked about whether motherhood had made her more courageous or more cautious, Meghan, speaking from her home in California, replied: "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, and so the things that you're able to tolerate on your own are not the same.
"For you go every single day how can I make this better for him, how can I make this world better for Archie? And that is a shared belief between my husband and I.
"At the same time I am cautious of putting my family in a position of risk by certain things, and so I try to be rather very clear with what I say and to not make it controversial, but instead to talk about things that seem fairly straight forward - like exercising your right to vote."
She added: "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 mum if I didn't know that I wasn't doing my part to make it a better place for him."
Meghan and Harry stepped down from their royal roles in March and now live in California.