LONDON — The Princess of Wales has warned that the growing dependence on smartphones and digital devices is fueling an “epidemic of disconnection” that is undermining family relationships and children’s emotional well-being.

“While digital devices promise to keep us connected, they frequently do the opposite,” Catherine wrote in an essay co-authored with Prof.

Robert Waldinger of Harvard Medical School, published on the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood website.

In her piece, titled The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World, the princess said that smartphones and constant online distractions are “fragmenting our focus” and diminishing the quality of time families spend together.

“We're physically present but mentally absent, unable to fully engage with the people right in front of us,” she wrote, warning that modern habits like checking phones during conversations or scrolling through social media at family dinners amount to “withdrawing the basic form of love that human connection requires.”

Catherine emphasized that warm, nurturing relationships in early childhood are essential for lifelong mental and physical health — but that social trends are pulling families in the opposite direction.

“We’re raising a generation that may be more ‘connected’ than any in history while simultaneously being more isolated, more lonely, and less equipped to form the warm, meaningful relationships that research tells us are the foundation of a healthy life,” she wrote.

During a visit Thursday to the Home-Start early years centre in Oxford, a charity supporting families with young children, the princess discussed the impact of digital distractions on family life. She played with several children during her visit, joking, “The messier it is, the better the fun,” after a young girl spilled a tray of flour beside her.

Her husband, Prince William, recently said during an Apple TV+ interview that their three children are not allowed to have smartphones, reflecting the couple’s commitment to promoting healthy digital habits.

Founded in 2021, the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood aims to raise awareness and promote research on the importance of children’s early years, focusing on the lasting effects of positive relationships and emotional development. — Agencies