THE Duchess of Sussex has compared social media users to "drug addicts", despite having been a frequent user of Instagram herself.

Meghan Markle was speaking at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Next Gen Virtual Summit yesterday afternoon.

During the online event, which cost viewers $1,750 to watch, Meghan used her 15-minute talk on 'courageous leadership' to warn against the "unhealthy" dangers of social media, the MailOnline reports.

She said: "There are very few things in this world where you call the person who's engaging with it 'a user'.

"People who are addicted to drugs are called users and people who are on social media are called users.

"There is something algorithmically that is in there that is creating this obsession that I think is very unhealthy for a lot of people.  

"I have a lot of concerns for people that have become obsessed with it and it is so much a part of our daily culture for so many people that it is an addiction."

The Argus:

Her comments relating to "users" echo the messages featured in recent Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, which shows how algorithms are designed to make social media sites addictive.

Until 2018, the Duchess had an Instagram account with 1.9 million followers, and also had official profiles on Facebook and Twitter.

The former Suits star had used the platforms to promote her acting work and had also shared personal photos, including holiday snaps and pictures with Prince Harry after they first met.

She closed her Instagram account in 2018, but the official Sussex Royal account she shared with Prince Harry was still active until the couple moved to the US after resigning from their duties as Royals.

During the talk, Meghan insisted that the Sussex Royal account had been handled by a special team.

She said: "I have made a personal choice to not have any account, so I don't know what's out there and in many ways that's helpful for me."