Meghan Markle may not return to social media due to harassment, according to PR experts

Before her relationship with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle was very prominent on the internet. Indeed, the former Suits actress ran her own blog called The Tig. When her relationship with Prince Harry went public, she closed down her blog.

While Prince Harry and Meghan were working Royals, they had their own Instagram page with the brand name Sussexroyal. However, when they stepped down in 2020, they had to give up the Instagram page.

Since then, both Prince Harry and Meghan have been absent on social media and neither have personal pages on any platforms. Despite being absent from social media for several years, there have been several rumours that Meghan will make a comeback.

Meghan Markle’s social media comeback put on hold

Meghan Markle delivered a speech in Texas and talked about the ‘bullying and abuse’ she experienced whilst pregnant with both of her children, Archie and Lilibet, who have recently had their surnames changed.

During her speech at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival, she revealed that she won’t be joining social media for the time being as it is what’s best for her ‘own well-being’. The Duchess of Sussex also highlighted the ‘toxicity’ that comes with social media.

As per The Independent, she said:

The toxicity that comes at you, yes, social media is an environment that has a lot of that. I keep my distance from it.

Reflecting on her experience with social media whilst pregnant, Meghan, who won't be in the Suits spin-off, explained that she was surprised by how ‘catty and cruel’ people can be and that people have ‘forgotten about our humanity’.

But we also created these habits – what I find to be the most distributing is how much of the hate are women spewing that to other women. I can’t make sense of that.

A PR expert weighs in on Meghan’s social media comeback

PR expert Rhea Freeman told Mirror that if Meghan were to return to social media, she wouldn’t be the one handling the page as it could have such an effect on her mental health. Freeman went on to tell Mirror that Meghan's best option for social media is to have someone manage it for her. That way, she doesn’t see the negative comments.

The detrimental impact that social media can have on people from a mental health point of view, whether celebrity or not, can be huge, but looking at how other high-profile people manage their accounts, some of the tasks are delegated.

Adding:

This would be a very good idea, she doesn’t need to see the negative comments. They're not helpful or productive and she won’t change people's minds when they’re set on hating her.

However, PR firm CEO Michelby L. Whitehead believes that if Meghan does decide to make a comeback to social media, she will likely use it to launch her own mental health campaign as a way to ‘leverage her bad experience’. Moreover, Meghan Markle is already a big advocate for mental health.

Read more:

⋙ Meghan Markle reveals she is afraid for Archie and Lilibet's future, here's why

⋙ Meghan Markle’s cousin shares new pictures of the Duchess in an exclusive interview

⋙ Meghan Markle: As the Duchess announces new podcast, here's what went wrong with Spotify

Sources used:

Mirror: ‘Meghan Markle's social media return 'off the cards' after slamming 'abuse and bullying'

The Independent: ‘Meghan Markle condemns ‘toxicity’ of social media in impassioned speech’

Express: ‘Meghan Markle 'shelves plans to relaunch Instagram' after major setback’