Here are some photos of Prince Harry in Leeds on Thursday. The pics of Harry in a suit are from his appearance at Leeds Leads: Encouraging Happy Young Minds, a charity event where he spoke. He also did an appearance at the Sky Try Rugby League Festival at Headingley Carnegie Stadium. During his speech at Leeds Leads, Harry talked about mental health and the power of simply talking about mental health. Part of his speech:
“I cannot tell you how pleased William, Catherine and I are that the dial seems to have shifted and that there is now greater understanding, compassion and kindness for anyone who opens up about their struggles. But let’s not kid ourselves that the job is done — there is much, much more that we can do at every level to make conversations about mental health as commonplace as those about physical health.”
“I read recently that young people check their phones at least 150 times per day – I’m sure we could all be more effective and efficient if we took a moment to process our thoughts rather than rushing from one thing to the next,” he said.
I agree with him about people on their phones. It’s not just kids, although I know why he’s directing his comments at the youths, which is because young people are more impressionable and more likely to feel left out/bullied/isolated by the social media craze. The worst “put down your f&#$ phone” moments for me are when I see people driving while talking or texting on their phones. Also: people who sit in the middle of a crowded, buzzing gym and just text away. Put down your phone and work out, for the love of God.
Now, all that being said… I feel like Harry, William and Kate are taking a lot of credit for “shifting the dial” or whatever. It would be one thing if this was something they’d been doing for years, and something they did constantly. But it’s not.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I’m with you Harry.
+1…and Harry is still a charmer.
Me too.
But FOMO keeps us all hooked 🙁
AMEN!
Poster boy for ugly-sexy. Prince H is hot.
Women especially are addicted to their phones. I see them on the bus. They put the phone away and you can the anxiety building up in their faces. Five minutes later they’re hauling the phone back out of their purse and getting another fix. The way they ignore their children is the worst of it all, pulling on Mommy’s sleeve “mommy, mommy!” I hear “shhhhh….mommy’s busy.” Pathetic.
Amen!
See the beautiful potential Princess Henry sparkling merge photo on the DM – a beautiful pull tigether spark of Prince Wales and Meghan.
Is he afraid that kids read yet another interview of him on their phones and discover further proof of how out of touch he is?
Hahahaha, good one !!
He needs to keep the magic alive, dontchaknow!
ZING!!
Doesn’t the fact that he knows they do it mean he isn’t out of touch?
@slowsnow: spot on!
Also, I don’t get all the hate for Ed Sheeran’s looks when Harry basically looks the same??
@Elisa YEEEESSS to the Harry and Ed sheeran looks alike comment.Thought I was the only one.
Ed has a round, chubby face and eyes that never seem to be looking in the same direction, plus he’s shorter and dumpier.
Most of us grew up without cell phones or much use and we did great.
And imagine the increasing body of knowledge freely accessible to the commoners! Gasp! How ever is the aristocracy to keep feeling superior to them through no achievement of their own?
I admit I’m guilty of checking my phone during downtime, like waiting in line at the grocery store, but I try really hard to keep a lid on it as much as possible, in an effort to be more mindful. The checking while driving is really, really bad. I’m surprised there aren’t more accidents.
The other thing that bothers me is parents/sitters at the playground who pay more attention to their phones than their kids. I work at a school adjacent to two playgrounds and caregivers who stay off their phones are the rare exception. Kids are always asking to join in with our preschool kiddos because we teachers are at least engaging with the kids.
Shoot, the playground is the only time my kids aren’t climbing all over me.
I get that having the kiddos on the playground probably gives you a chance to check your phone, that seems normal. It’s the caregivers who I see literally glued to the screen, never looking up to see what the kids are doing, that sadden me.
I try not to be in my phone constantly. I’m still on it a lot though which isn’t good. I don’t like texting and driving (though I admit I’ll look up songs or directions) and I hate when I’m hanging out with people and they don’t interact with me, they just sit on their phones. I’m also not a fan of parents giving their children tech advices. I grew up with barely anything whereas my brother got an iPhone at 9 and now he is unreasonably addicted to it. My BF’s little brother cannot be present at dinner or with other people because he is so glued to the phone; it’s harming his social skills. People are too stuck on their phones or any other device.
If the media came up with a story that being on your phone when with your kids increases chance of x, y or z happening, parents might put their damn phones down and pay attention to their kids.
Sigh.
Well, that is kind of the case. It’s similar to children with mothers who have depression and therefore are not able to engage with their children. Kids can develop attachment issues, which are carried into adulthood and can affect their relationships.
I certainly agree that people shouldn’t text and drive, and I really wish more people would put down their phones when doing things like eating with friends.
Harry’s not the right messenger for this, though. He doesn’t have a boss who expects answers at 10 pm or children whose schedules need to be arranged. He doesn’t need to wait in line for half an hour to do various things. He doesn’t even need to arrange his own social schedule. Someone so far removed from everyday life isn’t a great source of advice.
I couldn’t agree with you more. So much of my personal and business life occurs on the phone; from setting a daily schedule, to do lists, reminders, GPS, refilling my pets prescriptions, checking the news, talking to family/friends, etc. He has people who do that for him so there is just no way he can relate to an “average” person on this issue.
Same, Melly. I’m using my phone for recreation right now, but I also use it for grocery lists and calendar reminders and navigation.
I laughed at a royal, of all people, talking about being “effective and efficient.” This is a healthy adult man with no childcare, elder care, schooling, or housework responsibilities. He worked 86 days last year.
“He worked 86 days last year”. Question: how do the RF count the work days? Say one of them – WKH as they love each other that much – has a 30-min to a 2-hour engagement during one day, in London where they are based. Is that engagement counted for one day? Not even grooming and transportation back-forth would take the average work time for a full time job (day time) of 7.5 hrs or 8 hrs per day, depending on the country. Plus the 0.5 -1hr time for lunch. Not that grooming and transportation would count towards the work time. Blah, “royal” work days are different.
I think he means when people are just sitting in social media or playing with apps. Work and schedules and all that are different from people being addicted to their phones.
SoulSPA: Those are the number of days he did any royal work, whether it was one engagement or three. The total number of engagements he did was 166. So, let’s say a pair a day most days. I’m guessing some of those were worth a full eight hours and others weren’t. He had some long travel days where he attended things located further than an average person’s commute, but still, this man works nothing like a full time job.
Just to play the devils advocate here…phone provide a fast and easy way to get a lot done, but they aren’t necessary. I appreciate that most of your life runs through your phone, but not everyone (including PH) is out of touch because you can do almost everything without your cell.
Thanks, @lunchcoma.
I hear you and Melly but I think what you describe is different from teens mindlessly checking their phones all day. I think it is a pretty big issue with kids, it seems to have become a compulsion for many of them, including mine. I don’t think it’s out of touch for him to comment on that and to encourage a little moderation and mindfulness among that age group.
Is it really that different than the amount of time kids 30 years ago spent talking on the landline phone plus watching TV, though? Teenage behavior has a long history of annoying older people with its seeming uselessness.
Fair points but I still think it’s different. You had to be home to talk on your landline, which I did in fact do for hours with the cord stretched as far away from my mom as possible. Now you can be on your phone anywhere and everywhere, including at lunch with your grandparents and during classes, for example. My kids’ high school swim coach banned the team from looking at their phones during meets, because that’s all most of them would do instead of paying attention to the events right in front of them and supporting their teammates.
Technology has changed, but behaviour has not.
It’s all faster now, but we were just as distracted in ye old times.
I do think it is different but only because they can take the phones everywhere they go. There weren’t people texting at restaurants or movie theaters or parties. The behavior is similar but it is worse nowadays because of access.
Lol @LAK! ‘Ye olde times…’
Remember the good old days, when we were Druids? We couldn’t get ENOUGH of the creepy robes…the animal sacrifice.
Soo busy worshipping our Alien overlords. It was always ‘Stonehenge this’ and ‘Avebury that’ or ‘Build me a Temple worthy of me you human slugs’.
Sigh. Good times.
Eliane: lol. Never forgeting the sacrifices. It was rather tiresome. Thank goodness Stonehenge turned out to be a portal to modern times. These days Siri does all the sacrificing. The wonder of technology.
But he’s not talking to parents – he’s talking to young people that typically don’t have all the responsibilities and burdens associated with adult life. All he’s saying is that young folks need to put down the phone and “be present.”
+1000
Absolutely. But I have to wonder how the “150 times a day” bit came to be. I check my phone a ton at work. Mostly looking at the time (I’m in a desk job and don’t wear a watch”. Or seeing if I have a message notification. Those interactions take less than a second of me hitting a button and looking at the clock, or seeing that I don’t have a message. I’m not sitting around surfing or using an app during 90% of the times I’m checking my phone – and it’s literally the case of pressing one button to show the lock screen and glancing at my phone to see if anything popped up. Each interaction with that phone in cases like that takes under 2 seconds.
When I’m sitting at a doctors office I’m not going to sit there miserably bored just staring at a clock, either. I’m going to play a mindless game, or text with a friend to keep me preoccupied.
I feel like the numbers are probably exaggerated for the most part.
+ another 1000
@Erin why would you be mindlessly bored waiting a short period of time at the doctor’s office.
This is part of the problem. People cant just “be” anymore – people always need diversion and entertainment. What about relaxing with your thoughts? Practicing some meditation? Thinking of fun memories? Imagining the rest of your day? Coming up with nice ideas to surprise loved ones?
The human brain is more powerful than our devices yet we rely on it for so little.
I am a bit sick of this easy target, the phone, as a meaningful conversation. The parents who are on the phone while their kids play would have been reading the newspaper or a book a few decades ago. It’s the level of focus and concentration and awareness that counts. Maybe they would have been chattting away with a friend who is now texting to them on their phones because modern life separates physically from our friends.
Also, we use the phone to be informed. My kids are much more informed about ongoing issues than I was at their age thanks to Instagram etc. It’s up to me to educate them and suggest that they investigate further the info they have and check sources.
There are so much more pressing issues in the UK right now such as inequality and education (school)…
(Typed on a phone)
Every time I am at a social event, I look around and the teens (including my own) are looking down at their phones. They are not making conversation, getting to know people, learning social skills. I absolutely do think phones are a target. In my own home and at close friends I have been known to tell the kids to put their phones down and make conversation. It makes me crazy!
I was at my son’s friends recently and he was in the basement playing video games and she was upstairs. I asked about their wedding plans and she said we are arguing about it right now. Turns out they were arguing by phone while he played games and she did laundry. I couldn’t believe it and tried to explain that a relationship would be difficult if they didn’t learn to communicate with each other. It united them against me while they explained how well they communicated with each other. Apparently I’m old. Many times I’ve seen my son and 2-3 friends sitting on the couches on their phones. It scares you when they all burst out laughing but nobody has said a word.
Totally agree. People have taken it to levels that are simply rude. My parents like to have all of the grandchildren come for a visit and they plan all sorts of exciting activities and spoil them rotten. But last year when they came their behavior hurt my Dad’s feelings because he took it to mean they weren’t having a good time or didn’t like spending time with them. My mother wasn’t having it this year and just took all of their phones before they left the house and before meals.
It has become too much.
@magnoliarose: yes, it completely bugs my parents. Although I notice that now that they have an i-pad they’re less cranky about it. When the kids were younger my mom had a no screen policy at their house. But since they have all of my old Fisher Price toys and my brother’s Star Wars stuff-there was always other stuff to play with.
Teens are supposed to be obsessive (I remember spending hours on the landline… my poor parents) and develop extreme behaviour. It’s up to us to control and educate. I am not saying they dont spend a lot of time on their phones. From what I see too, there are different rules in school and in people’s houses from town to town and country to country: in the UK schools I know, phones are not allowed or they are collected and given back when they leave. Also, simple rules: never take the phone to the dinner table, never take the phone on family get togethers etc.
Moreover, it’s harder and harder to tell kids not to do something we do all the time. They are handling a technical device they will deal with later in life: tablets, phones but also computers and all kinds of screens.
Believe me, it goes by fast: once they have a stable group of friends and a social life, everything becomes more balanced.
Also, what I mean is that EVERYTHING is on a phone and a computer: photo camera, internet, books, lifestyle + interesting blogs, youtube. And these things are our go to platforms for make-up tips to solving a maths problem. So of course they will be using their phone for stupid stuff but also for basic info and technical needs. They also use it as TV.
@slowsnow: using technology is fine. I’m not anti-technology at all. What I am worried about is that kids and teens are not learning social skills, they’re not learning how to interact: their faces are in their screens. Also-it’s important for kids and teens to be bored: being glued on a screen is not giving them that. It’s constant stimulation. At one of my kids’ middle schools the kids are allowed to use their phones in class. Half the kids are watching crap on their phones instead of sitting there doing their in school work. I think there needs to be a balance.
CynicalAnn, to chime in on the declining social skills, one of my kids’ teachers/coaches just retired after 35 years. When asked what the biggest change was that he’d witnessed he said it was not a positive one — a definite decline in social skills over the past decade, which he attributes to phones. My older son is on the autism spectrum and he told me that he thinks he “blends in” with the kids far better than he might have 10 years ago because they are all on their phones so much you can’t even get a good sense of many of their personalities anymore. Sad.
@Esmom: it’s so disheartening.
@cynicalann @esmom that’s terrifying to me. Phones should never be allowed in school. If phone consumption is unregulated then there’s a problem. Particularly in school.
About social skills: on the fence there because our experience here is different. Kids are not as much on the phone as you describe. At the same time because I am an introvert and like to limit social interaction (I find group behaviour scary on the internet and irl) maybe I am not seeing what you see. I thinks it differs from context to context. Or maybe my kids are manageable for now. IDK
Also: my point is that in the U.K. now I don’t think the priority is talking about phone consumption. Talk to me about phone legislation re: prices and age-limit and content control and supervision of said rules and then I’m with you.
I probably should give this website a break. Thanks for the reminder.
What I really want is for Harry and William to stop being out of touch, spoiled, entitled brats.
What I really want is for Kate to stop flaunting £2000 dresses, while nurses and teachers earn less than that a month.
What I really want is for these fools to stop telling the rest of us how to live and what to do with our fing phones.
But, hey, we don’t all get what we want, do we?
The cost of Kate’s clothes always astonishes me. I just don’t understand how someone can spend SO MUCH on what they wear yet still look so basic.
+1000. Since when do we need Billionaire leeches telling us how to live better lives?
Jeesh, its like having a Royal Goop, constantly lecturing the ‘peasants.’
*eyeroll* go open a rec center in Slough and STFU.
Only if the helo is available.
Harry has lost all credibility with his Newsweek interview. The tiresome trio is so spoiled and oblivious to the rest of the world. Even though spending less time on devices is good advice, Harry isn’t the one to lecture.
Damage control, that’s that it is. People reported that he had two engagements on that day – the one on mental health and one at a rugby event for children. If he really wanted to redeem himself after the Newsweek Gate, he should do a lot more, not only pick and choose.
I think the best things would be: (1) Queen and Charles cut off their allowances for bringing shame to the RF and by extension to the UK and the Commonwealth, (2) complete overall of their team(s) because from my point of view they’re spineless yes Your Royal (non) Highness Prince/Duchess pen-pushers that make a lot of money/perks in their positions. (3) Put them under the supervision of a competent team responding directly to the Queen or Charles.
If none of the above works, make them give up their titles. They bring shame to the RF and the country and are clearly unworthy of titles, privileges and respect.
Yep, damage control. The cheek of the whiny bugger giving advice to anyone.
Sadly, it’s too late to do anything about the three amigos; it’s either their way or no way. Someone should call their bluff. They are no great loss.
I’m with you, I’d also like to live in a country that didn’t need food banks and where I don’t have to read about a 24 million pound extension to Kensington Palace – allegedly so he can have a huge apartment – when we are struggling to house the old, frail and vulnerable.
Spot on!! May I add also providing quality health care and decent pensions.
Agree with you Clare.Harry ,William,Kate just do the little work that you’re supposed to do and stop preaching to the masses.Oh I forgot they are all so normal I guess I should listen to their advice(sarcasm).Kids and all people are on their phones a lot for varying reasons-checking the time,I check my bank accounts (we know they don’t do that),photos,reading,etc.Harry needs to know too that most people can use their phones,iPad,to ‘visit’places he and his people can see anytime,he isn’t getting back into public good graces so easily after his stupid interview a few weeks ago.Yes don’t text and drive,don’t be on your phone when an actual human is right beside you-common sense et al
Well, I do think he has a point. You cannot walk anywhere these days without a bunch of zombies glued to their phones blocking the way. Stopping in the middle of some very busy stairs just because you decided that was a good place to start texting your friends is a common occurence in morning commuter traffic these days. People act as if their fellow commuters are some kind of an annoying aberration while real life takes place in their phones. Talking about social skills… How about paying attention to your surroundings instead and getting a move on!
And he wants them to get off his lawn too.
Even worse than someone texting while driving, is someone taking selfies while driving. The rest of us really don’t want to die just because you felt the need to take 1500 photos of yourself.
Touching your phone while driving is illegal where I live – is it not the same elsewhere?
A phone is a distraction like no other – it’s not a matter of if you crash, but when.
I remember when I used to get excited about Harry’s news. I’m sooo over him these days.
Why is that?
I notice a lot of people (not necessarily you) have been off Harry lately, even though he has been doing more than he has ever done, and his interviews are better than they were.
It seems like a number of people (again, not saying you) who used to love Harry suddenly can’t stand him once he went public with Megan. I don’t understand how some of them turned on him so easily.
I think it’s because he’s been complaining so much lately, life is so difficult, no one wants the throne , blah blah blah.
I don’t think people dislike him because of Meghan. For what I think, she is a plus for his image only as she is compared to Kate as a royal girlfriend. Not more.
IMO his downfall started with the infamous Newsweek interview that highlighted in hindsight his petulance and sheer laziness (IG are a big issue but he does not work full time all year round for it).
The fact that he has Bill as his brother and Kate as “sister”, as they are, does not help. On the contrary. They are kind of a 3 in 1 deal. Lazy, entitled, spoiled, petulant and out of touch with reality and the public. WKH will probably be the downfall of the RF.
Nah- the vitriol started before that recent interview.
I like Harry with Meghan and look forward to the flying Elvi, but the Newsweek article was tone deaf and he needs to stop linking himself to Will and Kate, because those too are even lazier than he is, and they don’t even bother preparing for whatever events they are attending.
At least Harry is still doing substantive appearances, at least compared to Kate and her gig watching tennis. She hasn’t bothered to visit the Grenfell Tower residents yet, and they live down the road from KP. And the itinerary for the Poland and Germany visit by the lazy duo has no substance whatsoever but they will bring the kids so the press gives them some attention.
He really shouldn’t be telling kids to get off the cellphone though, because he is a 32 year old who gets millions from the government for doing not much at all. Not really an example that anyone else can follow even if they wanted to.
Is it vitriol or just people seeing Harry pretty clearly as an entitled brat and saying so? The ga-ga over him was just silly. He can charm people but he rests on that – his idea of work doesn’t go much further. Full of it. Suggesting that he and his lazy brother and SIL have changed the dial by rocking up for a few hours here and there, chanting the same slogans like parrots etc is just ludicrous.
It definitely coincided with Meghan! It’s amazing to me how much more “entitled” he became since meeting her and starting a serious relationship.
Can’t go anywhere without seeing people of any age looking at their phone. Toddlers, teens, middle-aged, and the elderly all staring at the phone and nothing else. I’m guilty too, but I put it away while on a date or out to eat with friends.
Hi Beth, I watched a family of 3 sit through an entire dinner, at a restaurant, and not one word was exchanged between them, all 3 were on their phones It was rather sad.
Yep I saw that too with a family of 5! It’s just weird. You already don’t spend a lot of time together and meal times are the only time you get to actually engage with a family member.
At my house no one is allowed to bring a phone or a tablet to the dinner table. I don’t care you talk to the person next to you not stick your nose down your phone.
I feel sorry for my kids’ generation. Not very many of them will have social skills to speak of since they are stuck in front of a phone/tablet.
The toddler thing is the craziest to me. I was working with volunteer groups at my last job and one time a couple brought their toddler. I was surprised how he sat so nicely in his stroller while they worked — I thought he was sleeping. When I walked over I saw he was playing a game on a phone. It was very startling. I feel like if you’re young enough for a stroller you’re probably too young for long stretches of screen time like that.
I could wax poetic for hours about how much I hate smart phones and how annoying it is to be talking face to face with someone only to have their attention pulled away because of text, message or some other such nonsense. And why is it that when someone sends me a text and I call them back asap, they don’t answer the phone? Their were on their phone literally one second ago!!!
About 6 months ago I was driving down the street and see a guy walking toward me, in the middle of the street, head down and eyes glued to his phone. I stopped my car and watched, just to see if he’ll ever look up, sure enough the guy keeps walking never looking up and walks right into my car. Of course, that got his attention and I just smiled and waved.
I don’t hate smart phones, but I refuse to be glued to mine. I only got it because appartment hunting is really difficult in germany – if you dont reply to an email from a potential landlord within 10 minutes, you won’t get an appointment.
I am known to not check my phone for hours or days. People get angry at me all the time for failing to reply immediately to their whatsapp messages. Most beautiful thing: my boyfriend seriously apologized to this family on my behalf for being rude and explained to them that I am “different” (there’s a family groupchat and I answered “late”).
If somebody were to repeatedly check his phone while in a conversation orlunch with me, that would be the last lunch we’d have had together.
Lol, it’s so nice to find a kindred spirit Sojaschnitzel!!! My firm stance of not being tied to my phone irks some people but others applaud me for it and say they wish they could disconnect a bit too.
Werner Herzog has a documentary called “One Second to the Next” about texting and driving. If nothing else, people need to stop checking their phone when they’re driving. You’re more impaired as a driver if you’re on your phone than if you’re intoxicated, which is crazy to me.
I don’t work retail/customer service anymore but I think it’s super rude when people are on their phone when they’re at the cashier or ordering in a restaurant…basically what we’re all telegraphing is “My time is more important than yours.”
In BC texting, talking, or using an electronic device while driving will net you a $368 fine and 4 points on your license. It only goes up from there. The second fine is over $500, etc.
Another big problem I have is people walking through grocery,mall,department stores with ear buds in oh and driving because now they do that too.Besides stupid it’s dangerous but I don’t need Harry telling me this
One day, we will have phones imbedded into the skin of our palms, so you never ever have to put your phone down or lose it. It will be a part of you and you, it. 😇😇😄
…and everything you do, everywhere you go, everything you say, will be recorded. It should make court cases a breeze😁
Sounds like hell to me 🙂
I wish I could read the entire speech. Checked the link from People’s mag and couldn’t find more so I will comment on what we have available.
There so many wrongs in there. Let me start with the use of language. If he addresses a young audience – the charity works for young people, probably some are disadvantaged – why not use a different style. To better send the message across. Making funny faces is not enough. The language is sterile and complicated. Whoever wrote his speech should learn that you use different language for different audiences.
Secondly, just talking about mental issues is not enough. Not even the least one can do. It takes to have someone with some experience and skill to be able to help. Taking some weigh off someone’s chest and hearing some words of encouragement could help a bit, but it must be followed up.
I could not see any real solution in that speech. “Talking about mental health” is not enough. It takes resources, skill and time. And it does not address problems with economic situation of parents, family conflicts, substance abuse, peer pressure and the like. Talk about building resilience and HOW TO DO IT. Engage in raising funds and ensure that the project for which the funds had been raised will have a real impact.
Harry dear, you have not convinced me at all. You’ve wasted another chunk of someone else’s cash to make an appearance that counts towards your engagements and interest in a very serious and important issue. It was also very nice of you to mention WK. Where were they? What have they done lately towards mental health? Kannot making an appearance at Wimbledon, so much fun! Why not invite some children or teenagers to the royal box to enjoy high-quality time? That would have been very nice. I would love to see some kids and their parents, from unprivileged backgrounds, in the royal box with Keen Kate by their sides.
excellent post as usual, soulspa. it always boils down to the pathetic lack of self awareness that comes with a “royal” outlook on life, and sadly, the entrenched extreme entitlement that will pamper them until the day they die. reading articles about WKH actually DEPRESS the heck out of me…so much so that right now i think i need some downtime on youtube watching cuddly baby pandas.
Thanks very much Kaiko and enjoy watching the pandas 🙂
IMO the obsession with social media is utterly disturbing. There are people who live their lives on IG, twitter, facebook. Some recent studies show that the LEDs of smart phones screens are damaging to eyes and brain if a person, especially young people, use them excessively.
Many parents give smart phones/tablets to their children to keep them busy. I am appalled when I see kids as young as 2 with their eyes glued to the tablet or smart phone and are oblivious to their surroundings. Or when parents give them food and put a tablet in front of them to watch cartoons while they eat. How did we survive before? Really?
It will also lead to increased posture and neck problems from constantly looking down. (and I do mean constantly)
my husband is an EE and assures me there is nothing to worry about, the amount of radiation from a tablet or laptop is minuscule in comparison to a flat screen, for example, and the TV’s of today have about a 1/3 of the radiation of the ones from yesteryear that we grew up with. that being said, i have a healthy fear of EVERYTHING and still limit my kid’s exposure/time on devices and try to get them to pop an antioxidant every few days…you just never know.
I thought this speech was kind of weird.
Agree with Harry on the phone thing. I see people pushing strollers and checking their iPhones, and walking the dog and texting or talking. I’m a real animal lover and I think even walking the dog is one time he/she gets your attention.
Lots of parent shaming happening on this thread. Unless you know the exact circumstances, please don’t judge why some kids have ipods or play games on phones. Just do your best with your kids and life, and leave others to do theirs.
As for Harry, in this circumstance he’s right. People are replacing human interactions with social media, and we are suffering for it. It’s hard enough for people to accurately read body language, and now we have to interpret text as well, where we have to rely on emjoies for
context? Crazy.
And it is an addiction, the need to have constant updates and information. It also means there is never any down time for teens and kids, no escape from school, peer pressure, time to figure things out in their heads before having to react. Same for adults.
I think it adds pressure and anxiety to their already pressured lives. Now they have to be accepted online too. They don’t get a break.
true! my kids love their ipads and there are so many fun educational games, i think it helps them cognitively in the long run. however, i don’t let them sit for hours on a device. my tried and true tactic is that after about half hour of play, i come over and start talking with them while they are playing and they either get distracted with some actual conversation or so annoyed with my voice that they decide to go find something more constructive to do with themselves. 🙂
I’ll judge away when they’re allowing their kids un-monitored access to youtube. There have been so many sketchy videos posing as ‘kids’ videos out there. At the end of the day, if you’re going to use technology to help wrangle your kids – it SHOULDN’T be a case of “here you go, knock yourselves out”. You need to monitor the stuff they’re watching like a hawk. If you’re letting them have access to the internet – it should be MORE work to hand them an iphone/tablet because you should be supervising what they have access to pretty constantly.
On top of that – I see so many people letting their elementary aged children have facebook accounts. They’re breaking facebooks terms of service by doing this, so it’s another judgeable offense.
“and now we have to interpret text as well, where we have to rely on emjoies for
context? Crazy.” ever read a letter? This isn’t something brand new – your whole life is about interpreting context through text when it comes to school/reading/research/work… and those things don’t come along with an emoji.
There needs to be a balance. A television and the internet aren’t babysitters. If your kids see something they shouldn’t because you handed them a device and free reign that’s 100% on the parent. Technology isn’t going to hold your kids hands and cater to little kids. But a certain amount of access to technology is only going to help them – it’s not going anywhere. It needs to be regulated and monitored, but educational games, or a limited screen time is no worse than any game system was before now. Active screen time is shown to improve hand-eye-coordination, language skills, spacial skills, problem solving, and if done correctly – social skills. So really, it’s a mixed bag – and it comes down to the parents making a concerted effort in controlling what/when the kids use it.
Yeah it’s a no from me dawg. You, Will and Kate shifted what exactly?? I’m pretty sure the people who been working on that for years did that.
Harry baby it’s time to go to your royal barber and let him shave it off.
His interview wasn’t taken the same here as it was in the UK. But it isn’t our taxes being used to support them either but I wonder if there isn’t a cultural reason too. There has always been a somewhat popular theme in books and movies about the poor lonely rich person who is unhappy despite their wealth. We don’t have a real class system especially one that is nearly impossible to break into and has such marked lifestyles and behaviors. So it wouldn’t read the same.
But it does seem like the negative attention is a little overblown. How in the world would he know anything other than his own life? Their lives are abnormal from birth. How could he relate to the everyday struggles of normal people when he doesn’t even know any.
Charles acts like a throwback from yesteryear so I can’t imagine having a heart to heart with him or asking him for guidance. Maybe he really does think average people are happier. He probably romanticizes middle class life. His own family life wasn’t exactly ideal or easy.
Perhaps he was thinking about all the maneuvering he has to do to simply have a girlfriend. Who knows but no one says the right things all of the time. Up to now he was so popular but he makes a mistake and out with him immediately.
I don’t pity his life or his station but I can see that it could feel like a prison sometimes.
What about old people, Harry? May I keep checking my phone 150x per day, pretty please?
I see kids and teens checking their phones while riding their bikes. They are looking down at their phones the whole time and paying zero attention to the road. I don’t understand.
He’s working, not saying stupid shit, and the message is a good one. He’s fine here.
And I want you and your entitled and lazy family to get actual jobs- not leach off of taxpayers!
Are there polling results of the British public to demonstrate this ‘dial-shift’ or any empirical evidence of the “greater understanding, compassion and kindness for anyone who opens up about their struggles”? Is he asking us to compare british (global?) sentiment toward mental illness before / after they did a video in a park and the ill-advised interview with an American magazine?
He can talk about efficiency and effectiveness when he gets of his ass and starts putting in real hours working.
He’s got a nerve taking credit for any shift (while not offering statistical evidence either). Heads Together is a mere shallow and very brief blip on the mental health landscape. Like I said, he’s got a nerve. Arrogant, ignorant SOB.
I think the Life Lived Through Phone horse is in the next county, but nice try. Meanwhile, I’d like to know how often he and his girlfriend check their phones every day to keep the inter-continental romance going.
That said, the whole Living Through Gadgets thing I must admit really makes me sad. Introspection, stillness, the ability to be alone with yourself, and freedom from incessant need for distraction are values just about in the dustbin. I don’t think it can be stopped.
Phones. Phones and elephants. Not, say, Grenfell Towers and rising social inequality. Nope, phones and elephants are Harry’s topics of chouse. Next: see Harry care about poor little kids with Leukemia. Running as far away from questions of social inequality as he possibly can.
Harry works less than Wills and Kate and his crazy tinhat fans like to say that’s Will’s doing instead of admitting he is just as work shy and entitled as his brother. Lainey’s even trying to say on her blog today that Will keeps Harry away from his nephew and niece because Harry is oh so good with kids. Lainey has lost the plot too. Harry also looks like a ginger gremlin so I don’t get why people find him sexy. I’m glad the Harry party is over.
Remember the “Honk for Harry”? It’s amazing that such love can be blown away by an article about the status that he did not incur, except by birth. So he does not understand you… Call down the system – not an individual. Britain insists on having a Queen, and bowing to her every need. How could a mere man understand how it might be for you? – when the Queen herself is the most spoiled rotten person on the earth.
He’s a good heart, and that is truth.
So Harry, if you don’t like the kids being on their phones all of the time why don’t you give them all a polo pony or a trip to Africa to amuse them? Yeah , right, didn’t think so.
I have one friend who is on her phone constantly. Texting while watching a movie. Texting through dinner. Texting through book club. One time, during a group gathering, I tried to time how long she could go without texting. Never made it to 30 seconds. It’s a compulsion for her. Or something. When she asks if we can get together, I want to ask her: “Why?”
Using phones incessantly is the same as any other addiction. It stimulates gratification chemically in the brain. Some people need this more than others, and some people get that same gratification in other ways (shopping, smoking, sex, gambling, substance use). I try not to judge, as we are all products of our experiences that shape our behavior. Although we have a choice to change our behavior, some of it is really deeply ingrained.
I’m on my phone now.
I kind of find comments like these very irritating coming from someone who has the time and resources to fly anywhere to see family and friends. For some of us, our phones are our social interaction. It’s the same when people call people who take selfies narcissists. If my friends didn’t take selfies I’d have no clue what they look like and I like seeing their faces.
I think people forget how isolating the world could get, especially in this day and age, they also forget that people were just as mean and gossiped about each before smart phones. At least with technology people who don’t immediately fit in with the crowd have some chance of finding others they can connect with.