Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex: ‘Don’t Blame Parents’

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex invite you to join them for a conversation, you don’t say no. But I went to the Archewell Parents’ Summit, “Mental Wellness in the Digital Age,” with some trepidation. With the brutal attacks in Israel echoing in my head, I worried that somehow the state of youth mental health was somehow less relevant. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

(I was actually invited through an Archewell advisor who knew of my work fighting hate-for-profit media responsible for teen self-harm.)

The parents of Englyn Roberts, Toney and Brandy, began by sharing the story of their daughter who took her own life at just 14.

Toney wanted to be clear that they were parents who paid attention to their daughter’s digital life: “We knew her unlock code. We knew her passwords. We knew everything. But I just didn’t know how to navigate through these platforms.”

It was only after her passing that they found a note on Englyn’s phone. Holding it in his hand, Toney read it aloud to the audience: “Behind the social media life, nobody knows the real me and how much I struggle.”

Here Toney was overcome with grief, and handed the phone to his wife Brandy, who continued to read: “How much I struggled to make sure everyone’s good, even though I’m not. If it’s not one…