Social media and its impact on mental health #8

Welcome everybody to the Security Guy and the CIA Spy Show podcast, where we are keeping you on top of what is new and ahead of what is next at all times on all things security, tech, and digital literacy. Knowing that when good people like you want to make sure that their money, their family, and their business is safe and secure from attackers, hackers, and thieves, or you just want to make sure your tech is running smoothly, my name is Robert Siciliano. I am the Security Guy, and along with my co-host Peter Wormka, who is a real and retired United States CIA spy, we will give give you every single tool, tip, tactic, and skill that you need to fight the bad guy and keep your physical and digital life secure, worry less, and even make you happier. This podcast will help you breathe easier with less stress and a greater sense of well-being. So let's get at it, and welcome to The Security Guy and the CIA Spy. I am Robert Siciliano, and this is Peter Wormka. Hey Peter, how you doing today?

I'm doing pretty good, Robert. Uh, it's Monday. For me. So it's another work— another week, another, uh, week ahead of us.

It's, uh, it's good to be working. You mentioned working. It's good to be working, uh, you know, with, with, uh, uh, you know, business is beginning to, uh, come back. Uh, I think that, uh, lots of, uh, planners who plan events, meeting planners, are still a little skittish, but, uh, the good news is, uh, things seem to be getting better for the moment. That could change anytime soon. But, uh, you know, here we are in the midst of a pandemic, but, uh, good news is on the horizon.

I agree with you. I'm down here in, uh, Orlando, of course, and there's been a, there's been a few events that have been, have been canceled. Some of them have gone fully virtual, but there's a number of events that are doing hybrids, both in-person as well as virtual events. So, um, not too many things are, are being canceled right now. Fortunately.

Yeah. So, um, today, uh, we are discussing social media, right? And what we're discussing specifically is, um, mental health revolving around social media, uh, and of course, uh, the, uh, security or insecurity and privacy of social media as well. Um, you know, we, uh, both of us, you know, with backgrounds in security certainly speak to security and privacy, But digital literacy is, is, is a big part of that message that we provide. And without understanding digital literacy, it's almost impossible to take control of your security and your privacy. Uh, and when it comes to the mental health revolving around, um, your social, uh, that is a topic that really is near and dear to me being a dad. Uh, and also the fact that I present a number of programs that revolve around social media security, and online reputation management. All of that really does go hand in hand with the mental health aspects of social media too. And when you have a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old that have access to these, uh, various, uh, social media sites, um, it's important as a parent to know what my responsibilities are to protect them from not just predators but also from, you know, uh, others out there that could bully them and, um, you know, uh, cause problems in my own home with my children. That's a real thing. So Peter, like, what, what are your cares and concerns regarding social media and mental health?

Well, I think social media, first of all, is a fascinating topic. I mean, think about it, uh, it's only been— it hasn't been for us, it really hasn't been around that long, you know, since the mid-'80s that it really started evolving. For us, it was a different world. We have different points of view, different perspectives than kids, young people that have grown up in this generation of knowing nothing other than social media. It's a great resource, a great, great tool for us in business to promoting ourselves and reaching a larger audience. But just as it's a tool, it also presents a lot of vulnerabilities. It can be very dangerous, and I think a lot more attention needs to be focused on the mental health issue. It's starting to gather a little bit of traction, but I mean, think about it, mental health in general is a crisis in this country.

Yeah.

And there is not enough focus on mental health. And so this is, this is one more aspect of it and it needs to be addressed. Really does.

I've seen, um, studies that show as many as 1 out of 4 college-age students are taking some form of, uh, anxiety medicine. Right? One out of four. Uh, and, uh, that means, you know, one out of four have been diagnosed with mental health issues at a minimum. I've seen, uh, studies also show that as much as 50% of all people, uh, suffer some form of mental health issue. And, uh, what I'm about to say is kind of a joke, but it's a little politically incorrect. But I mean, think about half the people that you know, right? I mean, if you think about half the people you know Wouldn't it make sense that half of them— I'm sorry, think about all the people that you know. Wouldn't it make sense that half of them are crazy?

Right?

Like—

Probably, yeah. In some regard. Right? It depends on your definition of crazy. But yeah.

You know? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's a real thing. And so, when it comes to social and the comparing of yourself to others and self-esteem issues and the amount of vitriol, like all of that can really negatively affect you in a lot of different ways. So, right here, is an article that was put out by McLean Hospital, right? Which, you know, McLean is in the Boston area, and I'm not sure if they're anywhere else. McLean, Harvard Medical School affiliate. The Social Dilemma, how social media and your mental health, you know, how it affects your mental health. Like it or not, using social media can cause anxiety, depression, and other health challenges. How can you change your habits? So I'm going to read a couple paragraphs from this, Peter, and then we'll comment on it. The social media platform Instagram made headlines for suppressing likes in an effort to curb comparisons and hurt feelings associated with attaching popularity to sharing content. But do these efforts combat mental health issues, or are they simply applying a Band-Aid to a wound, right? So, uh, a doctor had said it's a small step in the right direction. Uh, here, this woman is a psychologist at McLean who works with youth who experience anxiety disorders about Instagram's recent restriction, even if you remove the likes, there continue to be opportunities for comparisons and feedback. People still compare themselves to others, and people still can post comments. So, you know, when you hear about people comparing themselves to others, I mean, that is a totally normal thing, especially, you know, kids doing it with other kids. You know, one girl looks at another girl and, you know, looks at her hair and how she's dressed, and that's a perfectly normal thing. And you say, well, you know, that comparison can affect a person's self-esteem. Sure. And then you might also say in response, well, you know, just kind of toughen it up a little bit, grow up, you know, get some thicker skin and deal with it. Like, that's just part of growing up, it's part of youth, it's part of being adult. And after a while, it's not that big of a deal. And I, and I, and I am not all about coddling people to the certain point where we bubble wrap them, uh, in such a way where, you know, we don't want them to feel, uh, bad, right? But apparently it's bigger than that, okay? Um, because the way these platforms are set up, uh, there is, you know, the risks for the reward. So social media has a reinforcing nature. Using it activates the brain's reward center by releasing dopamine, which is a feel-good chemical linked to pleasurable activities such as sex, food, and social interaction. The platforms are designed to be addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments. So it's kind of like a slot machine that, you know, that when you put money in, that there's an opportunity to get paid. And the whole thing, as you play with it, is designed specifically so you keep playing with it. It affects your dopamine, like, it serves a certain point. And the people who create the technology are doing it so you'll continue to show up and you continue to look for the likes, the same way, uh, various games are played online, and of course slot machines. So according to the Pew Research Center, 69% of adults and 81% of teens use social media, and it puts a large part of the population at an increased risk of feeling anxious, depressed, or ill over social media use. So what it's saying is, is that like they know this and it's, it's being done purposefully, and they're doing it at the expense of people's mental health. Peter Siciliano.

And affecting more of the younger population. I mean, just think about ourselves, uh, Robert. I'm sure I mean, you're on social media a lot and to promote your business, and so we're getting feedback when we post something, right? If people are liking it, people are making comments about it, and, uh, but for us it's a little bit different. You know, we say, okay, people like our message or they're interested in what we have to talk about. We don't necessarily internalize it as building up our own self-esteem. You know, we don't— I don't need social media to build up my self-esteem. I could care less, and I'm sure you feel the same, and most people in our generation are like that. But the young individuals, youth, they have not built up their self-esteem prior to becoming, uh, you know, using social media. So it has become part of their self-esteem, whether, you know, in positive ways or very negative ways. And that's where a lot of the vulnerabilities happen for them, unfortunately.

Yeah, they don't have enough life experience like you said, to build up that self-esteem, to get to a point where what they're seeing and liking and sharing in what they're consuming is affecting them in such a way where it makes sense that it would give them anxiety. It makes sense that it could be potentially harmful and hurtful and cause sleeplessness and, you know, comparing yourselves with others at such an extremity, at such an extreme rate, um, because it's just such a vast, um, platform, you know, all of them. And And I actually don't allow my kids to engage in this way. Like they don't have these accounts. Like they're not on these platforms for that one reason. And I have good, balanced, happy kids that aren't experiencing any of the misery that I know a lot of kids and their parents are going through.

Now, I think your children are younger. Mine are more expanding, you know, the mid-30s, low 30s, and upper 20s. And I've seen a difference in the 3 children as far as the youngest one has been more impacted, both she and her friends and her cousins, all the kind of the same generation or part of that generation, right, that has been more invested in social media these days. And it's definitely— I mean, it's close to home. I can definitely see it, how it's impacting young people. And it's interesting, the article has mentioned that it tends to impact more women, young women, than young men.

So, um, MacLean goes on to say, so, but what makes users come back for more even when it can literally make them feel sick? So, uh, the PhD said when the outcome is unpredictable, the behavior is more likely to repeat. Think of a slot machine. Oh, so she's even bringing that up. If game players knew they were never going to, uh, get money for playing the game they would never— they never would play it. Obviously, the idea of a potential future reward keeps the machine in use. The same goes for social media sites. One does not know how many likes a picture will get, who will like the picture, and when the picture will receive the likes. The unknown outcome and the possibility of a desired outcome can keep users engaged with the sites. That makes perfect— the physics of that make perfect, perfect sense. To boost self-esteem and feel a sense of belonging in their social circles, people post content with the hope of receiving positive feedback. Uh, couple that with, uh, content with the structure of potential future reward, and you get a recipe for constantly checking the platform. Well, there you go.

Like an addiction, Robert. Do you think it's an addiction? Is it like other things that can be addictive, you know? Well, drugs—

this particular article right here says, you know, social media is a, um, public— and this is from via USA Today, usnews.com, actually— social media is a public health crisis. Let's treat it like one. Uh, it's time to take old approaches to treat A new threat of addiction. So there you go. Um, let me see what this says. It says, our researchers have noted a rise in depression among young people since about 2012, with the use of social media among teens and their amount of time spent online increasing in close proximity. And, and I've seen numerous statistics revolving around suicide, teen suicide, and that teen suicide has just risen dramatically over the past, you know, 8 to 10 years. And Uh, and, and I've seen some studies that point the finger at social media as, um, a, uh, potential cause of that. I don't know if there has actually been a study that has said beyond a shadow of a doubt the rise in suicide is directly related to, um, social media, but I've seen, uh, studies that say there is a correlation, a definite correlation, and that would make perfect sense to me.

Likewise, I have not seen such a study, but I think there definitely is a correlation, strong correlation.

Yeah. All it says, it goes on to say that all this points to is how our social media usage has become a public health crisis. They went on to say that I believe we need to start treating these platforms like we do cigarettes and alcohol. Just like you said, Peter, that means implementing warning labels and age restrictions and conducting better research into the health effects of long-term usage. And they also say that just last week, President Joe Biden said the Rampant misinformation on Facebook related to COVID-19 is literally killing people.

Wow. I mean, but think about it. I see this as very, very, very difficult. There's no economic interest in actually doing that, right? I mean, if you want to see leaders from the business community, that's not going to happen. I think it really has to come from health professionals with the strong backing. The government really has to take, um, the leadership on that, and I just don't know. I mean, I, I'm, I am apprehensive, but you know, it's needed. But I just, I just don't think this is going to be addressed in a timely manner.

Yeah, I don't think it's going to be addressed in such a way where they'll actually work towards fixing the problem. And I think it's also part of the axiom, you know, the cat's, uh, out of the bag, horses out of the barn. Uh, like, what could you possibly do at this point other than warning labels. You know, people are just so invested, uh, in their platforms and connected, you know, locally and regionally and worldwide, uh, and, uh, we have just developed such a, a, a habit at this point, such a connection to these platforms. I don't think that there's any real turning back. Um, and then, you know, each platform that becomes the current fad, uh, you know, we've gone from MySpace and that, and then to Facebook, and then to a number of other social media platforms that have come and gone, and then obviously to Snapchat and TikTok. And, you know, it just, uh, keeps snowballing into one platform after the other, and it's just a new addiction.

Um, and going back to your earlier point though, I think, uh, the only, you know, the one thing that we can all do, we should, we must do, is look at how, you know, our children's use of, of social media, because that's, you know, when they're young at that age, the formative years, that's where the parents can have the biggest impact. And if the parents don't really pay any attention to this, uh, then, you know, we can't expect any change really to take place.

You know, I have been saying this since day one, and when I say day one, since about 2007, since I've been on Facebook, that, um, uh, social media is not a technology problem. Right? Um, it is a parenting problem, right? So if parents are more involved in their kids' digital lives, uh, and they understand the implications of all this screen time and all this interaction, uh, both positive in some cases but lots of negative interaction, that they would have a tighter control over their kids' digital lives. And I don't see any parents really, uh, in the scheme of things that are really doing enough to, uh, prevent their children from becoming addicted, uh, and affecting— negatively affecting their self-esteem and really, you know, their overall mental health. I will say that in my kids' school, which is a private school, that they do have a teacher that, um, teaches technology, and that teacher does provide digital literacy revolving around social media in it and its uses, in its impacts on children's mental health. And, and he does provide a program to parents, and those programs are provided every year, and I go to them every year. And what's interesting is that there is a handful, and only a handful, of parents that actually attend And it is only— it is the same parents that attend every year that the rest of the parents don't bother.

And it's even worse, they don't even set a good example for their children. If you go to a restaurant, you happen to see a family there, you'll see every family member on their own phones and they're not even talking. And you know, that's at a restaurant when you think you're going out, you know, as a family. And but if they're doing that at the restaurant back in their homes, it's even worse probably, where people, you know, the parents are on their, on their cell, their iPhone is just as much, and not even communicating with their children. And their children see that and they think that's fine, that's normal, everybody does it.

That is a perfect example. Parents start off using the digital devices, uh, as a babysitter, and then from there, uh, it becomes habit that you're using it all the time, no matter where you are, no matter what you're doing, and nobody's talking to each other face to face. They're often, you know, in another world and not even engaging. You know, getting back to my kids real quick, I— you know, we spend a lot of time and a lot of money, frankly, on, you know, their socialization, and that's, you know, between private school and all of their extracurricular activities. We are invested in our children, as parents should be, of course. And I got to tell you, Peter, like I don't mind saying this, but I'm not saying this to be braggadocious. I have people that meet my kids tell us all the time, my friends say to me, "Your kids are amazing. They're amazing." And then they tell me why. They say, "When they talk to you, like they look you in the eye and they engage you. And like when you communicate them, it's like talking to another full-blown adult. And it's like, they just so interested and interesting. And like, they're just such a pleasure to communicate with." And I say to them, my kids are not amazing. They're nothing special. They really aren't. They're normal. That's how kids are supposed to be. Like, what, what, what these— what other adults are experiencing mostly is kids that are disconnected. They're not looking them in the eye. They're, they're just waiting for the adult to stop talking so they can look at their phone. And so because, because of that, my kids look so much better because other kids aren't normal, because parents aren't doing the necessary work to engage their kids in activities that would facilitate a better communication skills and socialization.

No, that's, that's very, very— it's very, very key because, uh A lot of the youth have really lost the talent or the touch of how to communicate effectively with each other. Yeah, we don't have, you know, nonverbal communication, uh, is not really part of, uh, communication anymore because we don't happen to even see the other person.

Yeah. So Peter, check this out. So this right here should be a little upsetting. Um, Facebook— this is via USA Today— Facebook officials knew Instagram can have negative mental health impacts for teens, report claims. Top Facebook officials were aware that Instagram, the popular photo-based social media platform that it owns could have a negative impact on mental health, body image, and more for teenagers, particularly for teenage girls, which makes most sense. Researchers who work for the social media giant found that some of the problems were specific to Instagram and not social media as a whole. It said that 32% of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse. Researchers shared in a March 2020 slide presentation posted to Facebook's internal message board reviewed the— with the Wall Street Journal said that comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves. It goes on to say that in a study of teens in the US and UK, Facebook found that over 40% of Instagram users who reported feeling unattractive traced their feelings back to the platform. So one slideshow from 2019 said that we make body image issues worse for 1 in 3 teen girls. Another read, teens blame Instagram for increase in the rate of anxiety and depression. So this is another, another, you know, response where, you know, certain people might look at this and go, look it, so then just toughen up, grow a thicker skin, and get off of social and you solve all your problems. Well, that is true to a certain degree, but the parents need to see this. They need to recognize it. They need to understand this and they need to do something about it because the kid at 16 years old does not have the capacity to stop. And there needs to be some interaction between the parent and the child, and the parent needs to understand that this is what's going on.

Well, parenting, right?

That's parenting.

Yeah, you know, it's not— we're all adults and, uh, we live together. We parents are children.

We should So when I had talked about the— my kids' school and the teacher doing digital literacy, and all the parents that are concerned about this are the ones that show up to the meeting. A couple years back, in one of those meetings, we had a couple of new parents, right, that showed up. And one of those parents shared a story that I found very interesting, and I tell in my own programs, that their daughter, um, they got her a phone in 7th grade, and that shortly afterwards she would disappear into her bedroom after 6, 7 o'clock at night after dinner, and they wouldn't see her really until it was time for bed and/or the next morning. And that continued for months and months and months, and they thought she was in there doing homework, that everything was this, that, and the other thing. And then her grades started to slip. Okay, and then the mother started to pay attention to her daughter's phone, and then she started to see that her daughter was on this chain, a text chain, of all of these girls, like 40, 50 girls just bullying each other, cutting each other up and down, like really just being mean, mean, mean to each other. And the mother realized what was going on with her daughter, why her grades were slipping, why she'd eventually come out of her bedroom over and over again crying. Like, and this is the mother telling the story. And so when she picked up the phone and saw what was going on, she's like, you are done with this phone. Like, like, just enough. And the daughter like physically threw herself on the floor. My life is over. I hate you. You're the worst parents, right? And then a week later, the daughter comes back to the mother and says, Mom, thank you for taking my phone away. Like, I— she says to her mom, I didn't realize how deep in it I was. Like, she's like, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. I, I thank you. Like, I don't want that phone back. I don't want to be on social again. I don't want to be engaged in that type of communication ever again. Like, her daughter came back to her. Like, the kid appreciated it.

And I don't think it was a digital detox, right? Yeah.

Yeah, and if parents— if every parent heard this story and recognized that in their own kid and did something about it now, I think your kids would be grateful.

I agree with you. Unfortunately, mental health is not the only issue that we need to be concerned about when it comes to, uh, social media. It's also, you know, we've lost control of our privacy, really. And think about what can be utilized, how that information on social media really makes us vulnerable. Unfortunately.

No question about it. So Peter, like, you know, we've kind of thrown up all over social media right now. What do you do? So as a parent, like, what are your options? You know, as an adult, what are your options even in your own personal life? You know, you might be on the single scene, you could be married, whatever the case is, where you are, kids, no kids. 5 ways to create a healthy relationship with social media. So because it's in our life, you need to know how to manage it effectively so you can manage yourself and your use of it. So, uh, this particular article from Loop news.com. Social media has become a staple in many people's lives. In equal measure, however, it has become a growth of overuse. While there are many benefits, there are equally some negatives, such as cyberbullying and its effect on one's self-esteem. So they say schedule time for your use on social media. Using social media for a specific period of time is a great, great way to reduce your social media use. Uh, check in with yourself before you open up an app. What that means is a lot of social media users use it mindlessly, and they often open and they scroll sometimes without even noticing that they did it. One of the best ways to curb this is by checking in with yourself when you notice yourself opening up the apps. Like, like before you, you know, say get behind the wheel of a car, you put your seatbelt on, you check out your surroundings, and you know, you consciously like, okay, I am driving, you know. Well, same thing with use of social media. Before you launch the app, You know, I am about to launch an app in social media. I should— if I find myself an hour from now still doing this, I've just wasted an hour of my life, right?

Absolutely.

Okay. And then think before you post. This is a big one. Uh, similarly, you should think about and ask yourself why you are posting on your pages beforehand. Uh, this is just another step to ensure that you are mindfully, thoughtfully, uh, using social media rather than letting it consume you. You know, like I have been saying my entire life, most people are just not that well thought out. And when it comes to social media, OMG! I mean, what people post and like how they react to other people's posts and what they say and how they're damaging their own reputations and that of their employer and their family, it's like, are you kidding me?

Definitely don't think about it beforehand.

So be selective of media you consume. If there are posts, stories, or even people that make you feel angry or affect your self-esteem, you have every right to unfollow or mute them. You know, and then people end up down rabbit holes of like QAnon, and they end up like just being a burden to themselves and their families. It's like, you really do need to monitor the information that you are consuming. Look, I've learned a long, long, long, long, long time ago that we as human beings, you, we, we become what we think about. We live in the atmosphere of our thoughts. We become what we think about, and we live in the atmosphere of our thoughts. So if you are thinking about conspiracies all day long, and you, you begin to live in the atmosphere of your thoughts because you are consuming information regarding these various conspiracies, and it is right, it's inevitable you're going to go off the deep end. It's inevitable that your life is going to become complicated. Because you're not getting the right information. And with all that misinformation out there, it makes it even worse. And then it says replace that time wisely. So if you're going to reduce your social media use and ensure that you fill that time with offline activities that relax you and bring you joy. I made 7 eggplants last night that I pulled from my garden. I made 7 eggplant Parmesans, right? And I did not I did not take a single picture of them or the process or post it to Facebook. You know why? Because I spent that entire time having a glass of wine, or actually more than a glass of wine, a lot more, and I did it with my daughter and we watched A Bronx Tale. It was way more important to me that I spend that time with my daughter making a gravy, putting together the eggplant parm. And watching a great Italian film.

You didn't have to prove to the rest of the world that you have the perfect life. I mean, you were happy with your life at home.

Yeah, you know, and, and like, that night will probably be repeated in a year, right, after we harvest the garden, right? And, and, and, and the— and, and my daughter will look back on her childhood as that's what we did. Those are the Those are the things that, that they did with their parents. Not, we posted all these pictures to Facebook and got all these likes, and, and I showed the phone to my daughter and said, oh, this one likes it and this one likes it. Screw that. Like, that's not what— that's not why I did what I did last night. I did it because, A, we, we want to spend time together as a family. We love tradition, and we're going to eat like 7, 8 eggplants over the course of the winter. You know, and it's— and I don't care if I get likes. Like, none of that matters to me. What matters to me is the time I spent with my daughter, the quality time, and I made it about that and about that only.

Yeah.

Okay, so Peter, there is more. So, uh, we got to talk about the privacy and security implications of this as well. And, uh, do— can you see how your personal data is being scraped from social media? Is that showing up on the screen right now?

It is.

Okay, good. So Peter, um, you know, privacy of course is a huge issue. I gotta tell you, like, all the experts say you gotta lock down your social media pages, you gotta set everything to private, you gotta, um, you know, segment out who your friends are and who your colleagues are from work, and you got to put people in certain groups so that certain people can see stuff and other people can't. And, you know, as long as you lock down your settings, you can be private. And I don't And, and, and I, I dispense that advice that you can and should do all of that. And the— and then you know what I say? I don't do any of that. None of it. None of it. Not a single—

you can do it, but it— but for most people though, it's, it's, it's too late. And that's not going to protect you 100% because there's still plenty of other information out there. It's kind of like a How do you look at the world that approaches you? Because that's really the danger. If this information is being utilized, is being used for a purpose to reach out to you in some capacity, whether it's trying to sell you a product or trying to scam you, right?

Yeah. And, and if you think that setting your pages to private is really going to keep people out, you're delusional. Because anybody can screenshot anything on your pages and they can share it share it amongst anyone. So there really is no privacy in social media. And so my strategy has always been, and partly due to the fact that I am also considered what might be a public figure, you know, I've done 700 TV shows plus, and, uh, I constantly do podcasts and radio and all that stuff. And so I really am, you know, out there in the public. And so whatever I post anyways you know, I, I thoughtfully put it out there, and I generally want everybody to see it anyways. Like, if I want my friends and family to see it, I want my clients or my, you know, those who follow me to see it as well. Like, I am posting stuff that I think is of benefit to the world in general, revolving around all things personal security, information security, social media, online reputation management, active shooters, and all that stuff. Like, I want people to see my stuff, so I'm not posting, you know, vacation pictures and the fact that I'm not home and stuff like that. Like, I am cognizant of how the enemy can use what I post. So I think that if all people look like that, then they would be much more thoughtful as to what that means, and that they would be less likely to post stuff that could get them their employer, or their family in some type of hot water or trouble, or put them at risk, or be a privacy issue.

So it's not so much the, uh, fact of the protecting your information from limiting who can actually see it on social media. It's more emphasis on what information you post at all on social media. What's important information that you want out there? What's information that really is not important and actually makes you more vulnerable?

Yes. Yeah, and they can use that information to gather intelligence on you and use it against you in some way, shape, or form, like burglarize your house, right? So right here is an article from the BBC, how your personal data is being scraped from social media. And this article talks about how there's a guy, a hacker calling himself Tom Liner, scraped 700 million profiles from LinkedIn, you know. So your, your name, your, your employer you know, your work history, your email address, potentially your phone number, and he's selling that for $5 grand. So even if you do set all your stuff to private on Facebook, on LinkedIn, on Twitter, chances are someone's going to be able to figure out a backdoor access to it and use it in some way to manipulate you via some type of a social engineering scam, right? And you've— you actually teach this, Peter.

Absolutely. $700 million right now. I mean, that's— so he pretty much got the entire uh, all the profiles, because right now there's 740— according to LinkedIn, 740 million profiles. He pretty much got the whole, yeah, whole basket.

So Peter, like, when it's all said and done, you know, everybody become more cognizant of what you're sharing and why you're sharing it and how it impacts others and how it impacts you and the time you're spending online. And parents, parents, parents, this is not a technology problem, it is a parenting problem. You need to be more engaged in your child's digital lives, and you as a parent need to begin to set— you need to set a better example regarding your use of your devices and of your social media, right?

Peter, I agree with you. That's where we need to start.

So what do you got going on, Peter? What do you want to plug?

Well, got a few presentations going forward. The GSX here in Orlando next week is one of the largest security conferences I got the ISC² coming up in September. I got 2 TED Talks coming up in, uh, early October up in Alexandria and in Greensboro. And of course, I always plug my book, Confessions of a CIA Spy: The Art of Human Hacking.

You are an impressive guy, Peter. Uh, and, uh, y'all can see, uh, me, uh, at protectnowllc.com. Uh, we should be rolling out our, um, pre-recorded e-learning for our CSI protection certification designations. CSI is Cyber Social Identity and Personal Protection. You can actually have a CSI designation at the end of your name as a service professional, whether you're an attorney or a financial advisor or a real estate agent. This is for you to help and assist you protect the data in which you are entrusted with. So Peter, last words.

Careful how you navigate social media and pay attention to your children to see what they're doing as well.

Thank you, Peter, and we will talk to you soon. Be safe, be good, behave, and be careful out there. Talk to you soon.

Next time.