Kate's screen warning

THE Princess of Wales says too much time spent on screens is creating an “epidemic of disconnection” disrupting family life.

- By Emily Ferguson

Kate warns, in an essay with Professor Robert Waldinger of Harvard Medical School, that "we're physically present but mentally absent, unable to fully engage with the people right in front of us".

She calls smart phones and computer screens a “constant distraction” fuelling an epidemic of loneliness, and continues: "While digital devices promise to keep us connected, they frequently do the opposite".

Kate wants people to look others “in the eye and be fully there”, claiming quality time together without distraction “is our children’s greatest inheritance”.

The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World essay sets out the case for why meaningful relationships are the single greatest investment that people can make for health, happiness and longevity.

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