By Matt Davies

Copyright mirror

King Charles shared a major concern during a 40-minute conversation with a church minister. The 76-year-old monarch shared his worries about the “negative influences” prevalent on social media while speaking with Rev Tommy MacNeil. He heads up the Shed Project, a charity centred around mental health on the Scottish island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. This discussion followed a sermon given by the Church of Scotland minister, who typically leads the congregation at Stornoway’s Martin’s Memorial Church, to the King and his wife, Queen Camilla , at Balmoral Castle on Sunday, September 28. The minister spoke to the monarch just days after his meeting with Prince Harry . He recalled of the conversation: “We spoke for 40 minutes and the King was clearly well briefed about the Shed and what we are doing. “He was very concerned about the negative impact social media was having on young people in so many ways. He really understood the problems and the difficulties involved in combating them.” Tommy noted that the King was “very engaged” and appreciated the group’s work. The minister also highlighted how young people are today growing up in a “different world ” and that the material they can access on their phones is “frightening”. He added to the Daily Telegraph : ” King Charles was clearly very concerned about the whole issue and negative influences on young people from social media. It is almost impossible to police social media, so we need to find ways to combat that.” Both of Charles’ sons, Princes William and Harry , have previously voiced their concerns about the challenges faced by young people in the era of social media. William has previously spoken about the potential negative impacts of social media, including increased bullying and the creation of a “cultural and political echo chamber”. In a 2018 speech, he warned: “We all have to acknowledge, though, that much of the early optimism and hope of social media is giving way to very real concern, and even fear about its impact on our lives.” He pointed out that: “We have seen that the technology that can allow you to develop an online community around a shared hobby or interest can also be used to organise violence.” William added: “The platform that can allow you to celebrate diversity can also be used to cocoon yourself in a cultural and political echo chamber.” The Prince of Wales also pointed out that new methods to access global news also allow misinformation and conspiracy theories to “pollute” the public realm, noting that websites used to connect people can also generate “loneliness and inadequacy”. Meanwhile, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, unveiled The Lost Screen Memorial in New York in April and called for more action to protect children from the dangers of social media. Harry told BBC Breakfast: “We want to make sure that things are changed so that… no more kids are lost to social media. Life is better off social media. The easiest thing to say is to keep your kids away from social media.” However, he acknowledged a “sad reality”, saying children who don’t have social media face bullying as they can’t be part of the “same conversation” as others. The Lost Screen Memorial displays 50 illuminated boxes, crafted to resemble mobile phones. Each display shows a photograph of a youngster whose life was tragically ended due to the “harms of social media”.