Guests enjoyed glasses of prosecco and lively conversation as dessert was served at the third annual Project Health Minds Gala, held Thursday evening in New York.
As the night drew to a close, one major honor remained: the Humanitarian of the Year award. This year, the recognition went to Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, for their work founding The Parents Network through their Archewell Foundation. The Parents Network offers support to families impacted by the dangers of social media.
Earlier this year, the group organized an event where images of children were displayed on oversized smartphone screens; these children had died in circumstances their parents believe were influenced by social media.
Thursday’s Gala was organized by Project Healthy Minds, a nonprofit that offers free mental health resources, with a special emphasis on youth navigating a tech-driven world. Both the event and the following day’s conference shed light on how young people and their parents perceive social media, and highlighted the serious effects these platforms have on mental health.
“Let me give you a number,” Prince Harry said as he and Meghan accepted their award. “Four thousand. That’s the number of families currently represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 09: (L-R) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Phil Schermer, the president of project healthy minds
Image Credits:Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds) / Getty Images
Prince Harry explained that this figure only includes parents who have been able to connect their child’s suffering to social media and who have the means to “stand up to some of the richest and most influential companies globally.”
“We have seen the rapid rise of unchecked artificial intelligence, heard countless heartbreaking stories from families, and watched as parents worldwide grow more worried about their children’s online experiences,” he added.
He pointed out that these families are facing off against corporations and lobbyists investing millions to hide the truth; that algorithms are intentionally built to “collect as much data as possible,” and that social media platforms are targeting children.
He also criticized Apple for privacy breaches and Meta for claiming that privacy measures would cost them billions. He discussed the risks of AI, describing how researchers pretending to be children interacted with a popular AI chatbot and “encountered harmful content every five minutes.”
“This wasn’t material from outside sources,” he went on. “These were the company’s own chatbots, following their own disturbing internal guidelines.”
The evening’s major announcement was that The Parents Network would join forces with ParentsTogether, another group dedicated to family advocacy and online safety, to further efforts to shield children from social media dangers.
Prince Harry has spoken out about the risks of social media before. In April, he met with youth leaders in Brooklyn to discuss the growing influence of tech companies, which often prioritize profits over safety. In January, he and Meghan also criticized Meta for undermining free speech after the company revealed plans to alter its fact-checking approach.
The couple’s concerns about tech industry influence are widely shared.
A wealth of research has documented the harmful effects of social media on young people, contributing to a mental health crisis and increasing feelings of loneliness. The following day, Friday, which was World Mental Health Day, Project Healthy Minds hosted a festival focused on mental health. For several sessions, Project Health Minds collaborated with Prince Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation to facilitate conversations with parents, advocates, and experts about how social media has fundamentally changed childhood.
After the Gala: A Festival Dedicated to Mental Health
The opening panel, titled “How Are Young People Doing in the Digital Age,” was introduced by Harry.
Panelist Katie shared that at age 12, her TikTok For You page was filled with videos about dieting and weight loss, which eventually led her to develop an eating disorder.
Another speaker, Isabel Sunderland, serves as policy lead for Design It For Us, an organization advocating for safer social media.
She recounted reading an article about the Myanmar genocide, for which Facebook, owned by Meta, was later blamed for playing a role. The article prompted her to investigate how the platforms she used daily could be exploited to spread “hate and violence.” She once believed it was her own fault for coming across harmful content like eating disorder material.
“What I discovered through this research is that social media companies intentionally design their platforms to foster addiction and maximize time spent online,” she explained.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 10: (L-R) Jiore Craig, Aileen Arreaza, Jayla Stokesberry, Isabel Sunderland, and Katie S. speak onstage during “Surviving Or Thriving: How Are Young People Doing In The Digital Age?” at the Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day Festival at Spring Studios.
Image Credits:Rob Kim/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds / Getty Images
The next discussion, centered on childhood, delved deeper into the damage social media is inflicting on kids. Meghan introduced the session, which was moderated by journalist Katie Couric.
The panel began with Jonathan Haidt, author of the best-selling and controversial book “The Anxious Generation,” who shared his research findings.
Rates of anxiety and depression are rising. Children are having more trouble in school. Increasing numbers of young people feel their lives lack meaning. Outdoor play has all but disappeared. Kids are missing out on learning social skills because they’re not spending time outside. Boys are being drawn into gambling addictions. Many young people are struggling to resolve conflicts in person because their lives are lived mostly online.
And while some states are trying to pass new laws, tech industry lobbyists are fiercely resisting these efforts.
“Play is essential for brain development,” Haidt told Couric during the panel. “When animals are deprived of play in their early years, they grow up to be much more anxious adults.”
Even moments of simple boredom—like gazing out a car window or waiting in line—are disappearing, replaced by endless scrolling on phones and tablets. These quiet times once allowed the brain to rest.
Amy Neville, community manager for The Parents’ Network and president of the Alexander Neville Foundation, also participated. She lost her son Alexander to an overdose and is currently suing Snapchat for enabling drug dealers to reach her child.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 10: (L-R) Katie Couric and Jonathan Haidt during “How The Great Rewiring Of Childhood Caused An International Mental Health Crisis, And How We Can Reverse It” at the Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day Festival at Spring Studios on October 10, 2025 in New York City.
Image Credits:Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds / Getty Images
“I soon realized that families across the country were waking up to find their children dead in their rooms from pills bought on Snapchat,” she said. Her legal case is progressing. “It feels like a fight to the finish,” she added. “I’m ready to see it through.”
Another mother, Kirsten, also spoke. She is the parent of Katie, who appeared on the earlier panel. Kirsten described how she believed she was doing everything right—checking her daughter’s phone every night and putting it away before bedtime. Yet Katie still ended up hospitalized with an eating disorder.
Kirsten reviewed text messages and search history. Someone then sent her an article about TikTok’s promotion of eating disorder content to young girls.
“My husband and I had no idea what the For You page was,” she said. “This wasn’t content my daughter was looking for—it was being pushed to her over and over.”
The main takeaway from that panel—and both events—was the need for more action.
Throughout the festival, attendees called for stronger legislation, greater accountability from tech companies, more advocacy, and collective efforts to create boundaries between families and social media. Despite the challenges, there was a sense of hope for change.
“We can and we will build the movement that every family and every child deserves,” Meghan said at the Gala. “When parents unite, when communities come together, real change happens. We’ve seen it before, and we’re seeing it grow now.”
