Why Harry and Meghan need to be cautious when building Archie's 'personal brand'

Having children in 2019 is a totally different ball game compared to 20 years ago, and it's all down to social media.

To put it simply, more children than ever before are growing up as "digital natives" and from the moment parents welcome their child into the world, they will more often than not be thinking about the "personal brand" they're building for their child whether they realise it or not.

In a 2018 study from the London School Of Economics and Political Science, it was found three out of four parents were regularly sharing photographs of their children on social media.

However, it's something people should be cautious of, particularly due to the fact that 44 per cent of Aussie parents aren't aware their children can have their identities stolen by cyber criminals, per Norton LifeLock's 2018 Cyber Safety Insights Report.

It's definitely something parents in the public eye, like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, also need to be aware of.

Just last week a fake account posing as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released a false photo of Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, and while many were quick to clock on it was fake, there were some who believe it was indeed the newborn.

So much so, the fake account is still active and has over 14.5k followers.

"Parents need to focus on striking a balance between what is healthy use of technology and what has the potential to exploit their children," Mark Gorrie, Norton LifeLock by Symantec’s Senior Director and cyber-security expert, explains to 9Honey about parents in the public eye.

"Parents need to remember that they are setting up their child’s digital identity from the time they upload that first photo of them online."

Last weekend, Meghan and Harry shared a photo of baby Archie on Instagram in celebration of Father's Day, but they were cautious in their portrayal of their son keeping much of his face covered by his father's hand and not giving away the colour of their son's hair using a sepia filter.

However, given that the photo has over 2.3 million likes from their 8.7 million followers, there's no doubt the couple will need to be even more wary than other parents.

But cyber-security expert Gorrie believes the Sussexes have been "reasonably cautious" when it comes to Archie.

"They are building a positive digital profile for Archie while also keeping the information available in the public domain to a minimum," he explains.

"This is a great example of parents limiting the amount of information on their child and protecting their digital identity.

"Parents who look to emulate this style of social parenting should be conscious of not giving out location information that could allow someone to track movements, as well as the personal brand you are building for your child."

Given at the rate of technological developments, parents and individuals just need to be cautious when it comes to sharing their information online — even the royals.