Meghan Markle.Photo: NDZ/Star Max/GC Images
Meghan Marklethinks social media users needs better options than ‘Like’ or hate.
Speaking at theThe New York TimesDealBook Online Summiton Tuesday, The Duchess of Sussex floated the idea of adding a ‘Dislike’ button to platforms.
“So if you disagree with something you have to comment on it in a really vitriolic way,” she continued. “If there was a ‘Dislike’ button, wouldn’t that hugely shift what you were putting out there? Because you could just ‘Like’ it or just ‘Dislike’ it.”
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She added, “Now you have to ‘Like’ it or say something negative. It is just adding to this really unfortunate cycle that I think is having an unfortunate effect on women across the world.”
NYT DealBook Summit
She had traveled to New York with husbandPrince Harry, 37, who also drilled down on the problems with media (both legacy and social) duringWiredmagazine’s RE:WIRED virtual summit.
The Sussexes know all too well the toll that social media toxicity can take — in theWiredpanel, Harry cited anindependent reportthat had found “more than 70 percent of the hate speech about my wife on Twitter can be traced to fewer than 50 accounts.” He also implicated tabloid journalists in “amplifying the hate and the lies,” saying they “regurgitate these lies as truth.”
Case in point: The term “Megxit,” which went viral after the couple announced their decision tostep back as senior working royalsin January 2020.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
The Duke of Sussex also underlined the synergy between legacy media and social media in commodifying viral content to toxic ends — name-checkingSuccession’s fictional media tycoonLogan Royand real-life media mogulRupert Murdoch.
“This isn’t just a social media problem. It’s a media problem,” he said. “I’ve grown up learning that news should be sacred ground. You don’t have to be Logan Roy or Rupert Murdoch to understand that clickbait is the descendant of targeted advertising.”
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And in herTimesdiscussion, Meghan had a few more thoughts about media consumption: “Well, firstly I would urge you not to read tabloids. Because I don’t think that’s healthy for anyone,” she told Sorkin.
“Hopefully,” she added, “one day they come with a warning label like cigarettes do. Like, ‘This is toxic for your mental health.'”
source: people.com
