Kate Middleton Calls Too Much Screen Time an “Epidemic of Disconnection” That Harms Family Bonds and Children's Development

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 15: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Catherine, Princess of Wales arrives at the Shaping Us National Symposium at the Design Museum on November 15, 2023 in London, England. The symposium event, hosted by The Princess of Wales and The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, brings together leaders and specialists to consider key foundational skills for early childhood which can result in healthy adult lives. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images).

In the latest move in her ongoing quest to champion spreading awareness and education about how to help children get the most out of their crucial early years of development, Kate Middleton is speaking out about the negative impact of smartphones on not just children, but family life in general.

In a new essay titled The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World, which she co-wrote with Harvard University professor Robert Waldinger and published on the website for her Centre for Early Childhood on Thursday, Oct. 9, the Princess of Wales describes the role smartphones play in what she calls the “epidemic of disconnection” modern families face.