Kate Middleton is warning about the impact of smartphones on family life — and kids’ development.

The Princess of Wales says phones are a “distraction, fragmenting our focus” and fueling an “epidemic of disconnection” in a new essay posted on the website for her Centre for Early Childhood on Thursday, October 9.

“While new technology has many benefits, we must also acknowledge that it plays a complex and often troubling role in this epidemic of disconnection,” Kate, 43, adds in the essay, titled The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World, which she wrote with Professor Robert Waldinger from Harvard University.

It is the latest step in the princess’s enduring mission on behalf of parents and children in the first years of life.

Princess Kate with children during a Shaping Us campaign for early childhood in September 2023.Paul Grover – WPA Pool/Getty

“Our smartphones, tablets, and computers have become sources of constant distraction, fragmenting our focus and preventing us from giving others the undivided attention that relationships require,” she adds.

“We sit together in the same room while our minds are scattered across dozens of apps, notifications, and feeds. We’re physically present but mentally absent, unable to fully engage with the people right in front of us.”

Kate, who is mother to Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, believes this “technological interference” impacts a fundamental gift we can give others — “our undivided attention.”

Princess Kate speaking at a Shaping Us national symposium in London in November 2023.Richard Pohle – WPA Pool/Getty Images

“Yet, increasingly, it’s the most difficult gift to offer,” she continues in the essay. “When we check our phones during conversations, scroll through social media during family dinners, or respond to emails while playing with our children, we’re not just being distracted; we are withdrawing the basic form of love that human connection requires.”

Kate’s intervention into the debate comes after her husband Prince William, 43, revealed the couple are “very strict” when it comes to their three children’s use of smartphones. In his recent interview with Eugene Levy on the Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler, William said, “We sit and chat, it’s really important.”

“None of our children have any phones, which we’re very strict about,” he added.

Princess Kate taking part in a walk with dads and kids in London in November 2023.Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty

Princess Kate recognizes that regulating the use of phones and other tech is a challenge, especially for parents of babies born into the modern, digital-centric world. But it is a crucial element of her campaign that the early years are the most important to a person’s long-term wellbeing.

Neuroscience, she writes with Waldinger, has shown that the first years of life are the most crucial for the formation of a child’s brain — and when that attention from others is most needed. That period, she says, “is the golden opportunity to build strong foundations for future life outcomes.”

“Pregnancy to the age of five is the fastest and most profound period of brain development in our lives, with an astonishing 1,000,000 new neural connections being formed every second,” Kate writes.

She also highlights the fact that people are less likely to have dinner together as a family regularly these days. This, she says, is “something we know has an enormous impact on child development.”

“We are less likely to have friends over. We are less likely to join clubs and community groups,” Kate continues in the essay.

“Perhaps most troubling of all, more people than ever report having no one they can confide in about what is going on in their life,” Kate writes.