12 March 2024 , 18:25
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Meghan Markle has reportedly scrapped her plans to return to social media over fears she will face vicious bullying.
The Duchess of Sussex candidly spoke about the abuse she received from online trolls while pregnant with her son Prince Archie during an all-female panel at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival for a chat titled Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen.
During the panel, she revealed she plans to "keep my distance" from social media "right now."
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Meghan candidly spoke about her experience of online bullying (BACKGRID)She told the audience that "toxic" social media trolling took a toll on her mental wellbeing, and confessed: "I keep my distance from (social media) right now just for my own well-being."
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Public relations expert Rhea Freeman told the Mirror that Meghan will undoubtedly postpone any plans to return to social media after speaking so candidly about her bad experience online, and would "delegate" tasks to others in order to protect her mental health.
"Based on her recent comments, I don't think a comeback is imminent. The detrimental impact that social media can have on people from a mental health point of view, whether celebrity or not, can be huge, but looking at how other high-profile people manage their accounts, some of the tasks are delegated," she explained.
At SXSW, the 42-year-old said she faced "bullying and abuse" from the media while expecting her first child, and was on the receiving end of the same comments while pregnant with her second child, daughter Princess Lilibet.
"The effect that social media can have on new mothers, even just the lack of sleep because they spend all this time scrolling, but it can also just be really dizzying for them to see this portrayal of motherhood that looks so perfect when we all know it's not perfect. We all know that it’s messy," she explained, as she heaped praise on husband Prince Harry for supporting her as she was subjected to the abuse online.
The Duchess of Sussex is unlikely to make an 'imminent' return to social media"I'm fortunate in that, among the privileges I have in my life, I have an incredible partner. My husband is such a hands-on dad and such a supporter of me and my family,” Meghan said, adding that there should be “safeguards” in place to protect women from harassment online. “It’s not malicious. It’s cruel. When you’re pregnant, with a newborn, we all know as moms, it’s such a tender and sacred time,” she admitted.
Last year, it was rumoured Meghan was considering returning to social media to relaunch her blog The Tig, which was shutdown ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did also have an official Instagram account called @sussexroyal, but the account stopped posting once Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working royals in January 2020.