The Duke and Duchess of Sussex referred to their children while chatting about smartphone boundaries

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.Credit : Oprah Daily/Instagram

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are longtime advocates of online safety and smartphone boundaries, and the couple made a surprise appearance this week in support of a related cause.

The couple appeared virtually at an Oprah book launch event hosted by Gayle King on Wednesday, Jan. 7, speaking with authors Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price about their new book, The Amazing Generation.

The book speaks on the dangers of digital overconsumption and is designed to encourage children to have fun in the real world, and Harry told the pair that their research on the topic is “incredibly valuable.”

“Over the years, we’ve worked with how the digital spaces [are] deeply affecting our collective and mental, emotional and physical health,” Harry, 41, shared with the authors. “Obviously, a huge congratulations to you and the outcome of your research, which has created a parent-led movement, which is astonishing and much needed.”

Meghan, 44, agreed, saying they were “proud to be a part” of the movement.

The couple also made a brief mention of their kids, as Meghan shared her experience putting some of Haidt and Price’s suggestions into practice at home with Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.

“You were saying, you cannot replace the feeling of a deep, guttural belly laugh. An emoji laugh is not the same physiological response that we need, that our kids need,” she said. “What I love is that the more that we encourage our children to do this, we mimic those same behaviors. We also start to play, and we also start to be more present.”

Harry added, “The insights have been incredibly valuable over the years for our work with parents who have lost their children to online harms, and [our work] working towards solutions to keep all children safe.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex weren’t the only special guests at the event. Amy Schumer and Tinx were also part of the conversation with the authors.

Cell phone safety and its links to mental health have been one of Meghan and Harry’s primary causes in recent years. They’ve championed events through The Parents’ Network, a branch of their Archewell Philanthropies.

In April 2025, the organization debuted The Lost Screen Memorial — an installation in New York City comprised of 50 smartphones. On each phone, the lock screen image was a photo of a child who died young due to the harmful effects of social media.

Lori Schott, a member of The Parents’ Network, spoke with PEOPLE about being a part of the installation after losing her daughter.

“When we lost Anna, there was no light in the darkness. When TPN came along, it gave me a community to share all those thoughts and feelings, and to realize I wasn’t alone,” she said. “Even five years later, I still lean on members of the network on angelversaries, on birthdays. It’s a back-and-forth conversation that I don’t think will ever go away.”

“For my husband, until we went to the launch of the Lost Screen Memorial in NYC, he kept everything inside. When we saw the other families, and he sat down in those conversations, something opened up for him, and he found his voice as an advocate, just as I have. I couldn’t do any advocacy work until The Parents’ Network came along,” Schott added.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex opened up about The Parents Network with CBS Sunday Morning in August 2024, where they shared more about their concern for online safety from their perspective as parents. Meghan shared that even though her children were still young, the issue was constantly on her mind.

“All you want to do as parents is protect them. So as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there, and we’re just happy to be able to be a part of change for good,” she said at the time.

Harry added, “At this point, we’ve got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder.”

“If you look at it through the lens as a parent, there’s no way to see that any other way than to try to find a solution,” Meghan agreed.