New and Not New
We’ve been sharing safety tidbits during October’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. I hope you’ve seen them throughout the month. It’s never really enough to share safety tips a few times a week or even daily, to be honest. Online safety is a habit, like brushing your teeth or putting on your seatbelt in the car.
That’s something that PopCykol wants to be, “The seatbelt keeping you safe on the internet.” Pretty catchy.
The point is PopCykol started off wanting to protect precious, curious kids, but over the last 4 years since I started the company, the onset of social media has caused great harm to our children’s mental health and well-being. Kids are getting smart phones so much sooner than I ever thought would be appropriate. It’s not a judgement. It’s a fact. However, the neuroscience, psychology, even the sociology prove that it’s deleterious.
I didn’t learn about AI (artificial intelligence) and the use of ChatGPT until the fall of 2022. Then, it was in its nascent stage. Now, AI is omnipresent. It was clear to me then, like it is now, that some forethought about its repercussions weren’t considered. I hate to sound alarmist, but I’m going to be. Artificial Intelligence is a dangerous technology for kids and adults. The evidence is there.
At the University of Denver, I studied Anthropology and Art History. It melded my favorite subjects, art and social science. It’s there I learned the importance of human behavior and culture. From my perspective, not enough consideration was put into how AI would transform minds, behavior, society, and business. Even as a singer-songwriter, AI is being used to replace the art and craft of songwriting and actual musicians. That’s not something I support. More than that AI takes away some of the critical thinking skills necessary for personal growth and child development. AI is focused on algorithms and less on humanity.
My use of ChatGPT has afforded me the opportunity to fast track some ideas for PopCykol. It helps as we’re developing programs and strategies to bring online safety and awareness to you. Kemi and I work hard and devote time outside of our other jobs to provide you with helpful information to keep you safe while navigating the internet, social media, banking, and AI. I’m also deeply aware of the environmental effects of using AI and the cost to society for our dependence on it, which is why my goal is to limit my own personal and business use of AI and prompting. That’s my choice and mine alone.
For 2025, the same tips and tricks for staying safe online are tried and true.
Create complex, unique passwords for each account. Strive for 16-character passwords. Use a password manager to organize important accounts, passwords, seed phrases, and notes.
Use multi-factor authentication, better known as MFA, to add a second layer of protection. Using an authenticator tool provides a mechanism to ensure the right people are getting into the right account at the right time.
Update patches on your device. With advancing technology and technology experiencing end of life support, it’s critical to maintain security updates on your devices.
Be vigilant of unexpected emails, texts, and voice calls. Social engineering is just another way for a hacker/scammer to gain access to personal information that can compromise your private accounts and information. Be aware of phishing and the different types of phishing. Literally, if it doesn’t pass the sniff test, delete it, don’t respond. I promise the IRS is not going to send you texts messages that you need to send them money to get your refund. That’s not how that works!!
Of course, if you feel scared or pressured, that’s a natural response. However, you can control your response by taking a few big breaths and centering yourself before responding to phishing attacks or out of the blue inquiries. You can also reach out to PopCykol. This is what I do. I field questions to help you keep safe online and keep your sanity.
Consider a family or business consultation. Booking with PopCykol is simple and straightforward. We offer standard presentations and hands-on workshops, as well as custom services. You can also check out a few of our public and free resources on our website under Sweetz Cafe or PopCykol Tips.
In the meantime, we’re always looking for good folks to help spread the word about the good work we’re doing. We’re currently in process of interviewing Brand Ambassadors. If this is something you’re interested in, please visit our Careers page to apply.
