Duchess of Sussex 'keeps her distance' from social media
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex tries to "keep [her] distance" from social media.
The 42-year-old duchess - who has son Prince Archie, four, and daughter Princess Lilibet, two, with Prince Harry - has revealed that she's made a concerted effort over recent years to distance herself from social media platforms, after she struggled to deal with online criticism amid her pregnancies.
Asked how she's been able to handle online toxicity, the duchess said at the SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas: "Yes, social media is an environment that I think has a lot of that.
"You know, I think ... it’s really interesting as I can reflect on it, I keep my distance from it right now just for my own well-being, but the bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and Lili, and with a newborn with each of them.
"You just think about that, and to really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful.
"It’s not catty, it’s cruel. And why you would do that, certainly, when you’re pregnant, with a newborn, we all know as moms, it’s such a tender and sacred time."
The duchess has tried to protect her children from online toxicity, too.
The former 'Suits' actress - who married Prince Harry in 2018 - explained: "I think you know, you could either succumb to it, nearly succumb to how painful that it is, and maybe in some regards, because I was pregnant, that mammalian instinct just kicked in - you do everything you can to protect your child, and as a result, protect yourself, too."