Digital Disconnection Warning: Princess Kate Highlights Technology's Impact on Child Development

London:

Princess Kate of Wales issued a stark warning on Thursday regarding the role of smartphones and digital devices in creating an "epidemic of disconnection" that poses serious threats to young children's development.

"While digital devices promise to keep us connected, they frequently do the opposite," stated Kate in a collaborative essay written with Professor Robert Waldinger from Harvard Medical School.

The mother of three – Prince George (12), Princess Charlotte (10), and Prince Louis (7) – emphasized that this challenge is "particularly acute" for babies and young children born into a world dominated by digital technology.

In a recent interview with actor Eugene Levy for his travel show, Prince William revealed that none of their children are permitted to have phones.

"We're raising a generation that may be more 'connected' than any in history while simultaneously being more isolated, more lonely, and less equipped to form the warm, meaningful relationships that research tells us are the foundation of a healthy life," the 43-year-old Princess expressed in her essay.

Kate referenced findings from Harvard's adult development study, the world's longest-running research on this topic, which demonstrates that the quality of an individual's personal connections serves as the strongest predictor of a happy and healthy life.

"Look the people you care about in the eye and be fully present - because that is where love begins," she advised.

"Babies and children raised in attentive and loving environments are better able to develop the social and emotional skills that will allow them to grow into adults capable of building loving partnerships, families, and communities. This is our children's greatest inheritance."

The essay was published through Kate's Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which she established in 2021, ahead of her Thursday visit to an Oxford charity supporting families with young children.