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From YouTube: TEDxYouth@TorreAve: Aniruddh Suresh (2020)
Description
Navigating the Social Media Minefield by Aniruddh Suresh
Aniruddh enjoys playing percussion, mountain biking and playing video games. He’s also an active member of his school’s speech and debate club, competing for and helping run the team. Using personal experiences, along with those of friends and family, he focused his attention to a growing problem in the modern world today. His talk, “Navigating the Social Media Minefield,” focuses on the vulnerabilities that are exploited in order to take advantage of the millions of people who are using social media, and he hopes to provide a greater awareness of how to protect those who could potentially fall victim to such schemes.
TEDxYouth@TorreAvenue unites the global network of high school students in Cupertino through the power of ideas. Staffed and run entirely by Cupertino Teen Advisory Board and Cupertino Teen Commission, TEDxYouth@TorreAvenue aims to showcase the biggest ideas by filling the gaps created by misinformation and social barriers.
A
The
ad
said
that
the
new
update
could
detect
when
your
phone
was
in
contact
with
water
and
then
disconnect
and
disable
all
the
electronic
components
inside
of
your
phone,
essentially
making
it
immune
now.
This,
of
course,
was
a
blatant
lie,
made
it
by
the
Internet
to
try
and
trick
a
few
users,
and
people
fell
for
it,
dunking
their
phones
in
water
and
causing
thousands
of
dollars
of
damage,
and
it
just
sucks
that
Apple's
warranty
doesn't
cover
any
water
damages.
A
Then
about
a
year
later,
in
2014,
iOS,
8
rolled
out,
and
the
exact
same
thing
happened
except
this
time.
Instead
of
a
trial
by
water,
it
was
a
trial
by
fire
with
the
new
wave
advertisement.
The
basic
gist
of
it
was
that
your
phone's
radio
frequency
transmitter
could
detect
microwaves
and
then
direct
them
towards
the
battery
in
the
phone.
Essentially,
you
could
just
pop
your
phone
in
the
microwave
for
a
few
minutes
and
charge
it
up
now.
Please
be
insured.
A
Your
phone
definitely
can't
do
this,
and
while
we
know
that
now
that
didn't
stop
the
dozens
of
users
who
set
their
phones
and
their
microwaves
on
fire
and
pose
such
a
hazard
to
themselves
that
the
authorities
had
to
get
involved
to
stop
it.
Now,
there
were
numerous
other
ads
like
this
created
to
try
to
get
people
to
destroying
their
phones,
some
more
effective
than
others,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day
we
could
see
that
none
of
these
were
really
out
of
pure
malicious
intent.
A
Now
sure
many
people
call
these
jokes
going
way
too
far
and
I
wholeheartedly
agree
with
them,
but
at
the
end,
all
that
was
lost
were
a
few
phones
and
maybe
a
little
bit
of
self-respect.
Now
I
wouldn't
be
too
hasty
to
blame
these
people
that
fell
for
it
either
I
mean
these
advertisements
were
specifically
designed
to
imitate
apples
and
with
it
just
being
posted
and
reposted
all
across
the
internet
and
on
social
media.
Some
people
genuinely
thought
that
these
were
legitimate.
A
You
see
all
of
this
stems
from
a
very
basic
weakness
in
a
system,
and
that
is
humans.
Humans
are
susceptible
to
manipulation.
It's
been
that
way
all
throughout
history,
especially
with
modern
technologies,
bringing
communications
between
us
to
the
level
that
they
are
right
now
and
with
the
internet.
A
brand
new
front
has
opened
on
taking
advantage
of
the
masses,
and
that
is
social
media.
A
The
United
States
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
says
that
Facebook
YouTube,
Twitter
and
LinkedIn
have
all
become
key
tools,
and
that
quote,
fraudsters
can
use
social
media
in
their
efforts
to
appear
legitimate
to
hide
behind
anonymity
and
to
reach
as
many
people
as
possible
at
a
low
cost.
You
see
these
people
online.
They
try
to
imitate
someone.
You
trust
a
friend,
a
co-worker,
your
bank,
anything
to
get
you
to
drop
your
guard
so
that
they
can
fish
exploitable
information
out
of
you.
A
This
method
aptly
named
phishing
is
prevalent
everywhere
on
social
media
and
it
tries
to
prey
on
either
your
greed,
your
curiosity
or
just
simply
your
inattentiveness,
so
that
you
can
get
played
into
giving
the
perpetrator
whatever
they
want.
Now
we
all
know
about
the
dangers
of
using
the
internet.
Right
I
mean
most
of
us
do,
but
just
knowing
about
the
problem
and
a
lack
of
genuine
action
towards
solving
it
leads
to
complacency
and
ignorant
of
it.
You
see
you
can
have
all
your
antivirus
software
and
your
malware
protection.
A
You
can
have
all
the
safety
in
the
world
to
just
forget
about
the
problem,
but
the
human
factor
will
always
be
the
weakest
link
in
the
chain,
and
these
people
know
that
perpetrators
online
specifically
target
the
human
user
using
social
engineering
in
order
to
take
advantage
of
them.
And
again
many
of
us
can
see
this
coming
from
a
mile
away.
We
know
about
the
problem,
which
is
the
sheer
scale
of
how
often
this
happens
wears
us
down
to
eventually
where
someone
gets
caught
and
someone
will
get
caught.
A
You
see
the
Federal
Trade
Commission's
consumer
Sentinel
network
found
that
in
2018
there
was
a
38%
increase
in
the
amount
of
monetary
reported
losses
to
fraud.
The
leading
methods
were
imposter
scams
and
identity
theft,
things
that
are
done
through
phishing
now
their
work,
different
methods
of
delivery,
but
social
media
was
by
far
one
of
the
most
used,
and
you
might
be
thinking
that
the
elderly
or
the
children
might
be
the
easiest
targets.
But
the
truth
is
that
young
adult
young
adults
were
the
ones
that
fell
for
it.
A
The
most
the
FTC
actually
emphasized
that
about
43%
of
all
the
reports
by
people
between
the
ages
of
20
and
30
had
reported
losses
the
highest
of
any
other
demographic.
These
are
your
young
adults
going
straight
into
the
modern
workforce.
These
are
your
entrepreneurs
coming
out
of
college.
These
are
your
brand
new
parents
and
so
on.
Arguably
the
most
influential
demographic
on
the
planet
gets
taken
advantage
of
the
most
and
four
demographics
that
aren't,
as
generally
savvy
with
online
tools,
such
as
say
the
elderly.
Well,
the
situation
gets
a
lot
worse.
A
Now
there
are
fewer
reports
from
them
in
general,
but
that
can
simply
be
attributed
to
the
fact
that
the
elderly
use
online
tools
at
a
much
lower
rate
than
the
rest
of
us,
the
few
of
them
that
do
use
it,
however,
fall
for
these
kinds
of
ploys,
much
harder.
There's
an
87
0.55
percent
increase
in
the
median
value
of
losses
encountered
by
those
between
the
ages
of
70
and
80,
and
if
you
go
to
people
above
the
age
of
80
that
jumps
up
to
over
four
times
the
median
amount
of
loss.
A
Now
these
were
all
numbers
that
we
got
from
2018.
There
were
1.4
million
total
reports
in
2019
that
jumped
up
to
3.2
million.
Once
again,
imposter
scams
were
the
highest
reported
scam,
and
for
now
we
just
need
to
look
at
the
fact
that
667
million
dollars
were
lost
to
just
that.
Now.
Please
keep
in
mind
that
these
are
only
the
reported
values.
A
Estimates
show
that
there
are
numerous
people
out
there
who
are
just
far
too
embarrassed
to
report
their
victimization,
but
there
are
people
out
there
who
are
being
victimized,
so
these
numbers
that
I
presented
they're,
not
even
the
full
picture
and
the
picture
gets
a
lot
worse.
In
2020,
the
Australian
Competition
and
Consumer
Commission
found
that
36
million
dollars
were
lost
in
just
Australia
alone
to
these
kinds
of
things
within
the
first
three
months
and
hundreds
of
millions
Moors
in
the
year
in
the
of
the
world.
A
Now
the
depravity
of
how
people
get
affected
gets
so
much
darker.
Now
these
numbers
that
I
showed
you
they're
so
bad.
Just
because
of
the
sheer
scale
of
how
often
this
kind
of
thing
happens.
You
see
there
are
tens
of
billions
of
messages,
posts,
links,
advertisements,
emails
and
accounts
created
and
sent
every
single
day,
and
you
can
have
your
spam
filters
and
your
Facebook
settings.
A
You
can
have
your
private
accounts
in
your
push,
notifications
and
whatever
other
safety
in
the
world,
but
some
of
these
will
still
get
through
and
when
the
machine
can't
detect
it,
it
falls
on
the
human
user.
The
weakest
link
in
the
chain
to
control
what
happens
next,
but
things
do
turn
to
things,
do
get
much
much
darker
in
rural
parts
of
Africa,
where
things
like
getting
a
stable
internet
connection
or
a
reliable
source
of
information
is
slightly
harder
to
come
by.
Misinformation
spreads
like
wildfire
on
their
social
media
infrastructure.
A
Now
it's
it's
in
human
nature,
to
gossip
to
tell
stories
all
because
we
evolved
that
way
as
a
safety
mechanism.
Instead
of
saying,
don't
go
into
the
lake,
it's
not
safe
there.
We
instead
would
tell
a
story
on
how
someone
from
the
tribe
got
eaten
by
an
alligator,
and
it
would
convey
the
danger
of
the
lake
in
a
much
more
meaningful
way.
A
Well,
during
the
Ebola
outbreak
in
in
Africa,
there
was
news
spreading
about
how
the
government
was
persecuting
people
of
certain
ethnicities
or
about
how
the
testing
kits
were
meant
to
poison
and
kill
and
spread
the
disease
things
that
just
weren't
true
and
in
fact
it
got
so
bad
that
mr.
Nguyen,
the
information
management
coordinator
for
the
Red
Cross
said
that
quote.
There's
an
extensive
phone
network
in
the
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo
and
people
are
using
whatsapp.
There
are
whole
groups
just
dedicated
to
talking
about
Ebola.
A
People
would
outright
refuse
testing
and
treatment,
and
then,
once
the
government
started
enforcing
it,
people
would
refuse
to
give
out
the
names
of
their
family
members
or
people
they
were
in
contact
with
or
other
information
vital
to
stopping
the
spread
of
this
deadly
disease.
Thousands
of
people
died,
and
it's
like.
We
haven't
even
learned
our
lesson,
because
the
exact
same
thing
is
happening
right
now
with
the
Cova
19
pandemic
and
the
implications
it
has
on
our
world.
Health
is
a
genuinely
frightening
thought.
A
It's
not
just
something
that
we
can
put
an
end
to,
because
there's
no
one
bad
guy.
We
can
point
the
finger
at
it's
all
of
us
who
take
part
inside
of
this
that
are
guilty
of
it,
but
that
was
a
fairly
extreme
example,
but
this
kind
of
thing
happens
everywhere.
Every
single
day,
ranging
from
politics
to
celebrities
all
because
people
don't
check
what's
really
true,
even
when
they
do
have
the
resources
to
do
so
quickly.
Gossip,
like
this,
just
spiraled
out
of
handed
out
of
control
and
has
very
real
consequences.
A
What
should
be
a
ten-second
fact
check
to
realize
when
something
just
isn't
true
gets
completely
overshadowed
by
this
massive
mob
mentality
of
people,
believing
whatever
they
see
at
face
value
and
then
perpetuating
whatever
it
is
to
all
those
around
them,
sometimes
even
basing
actions
on
it
or
at.
We
opposed
a
protest,
anything
that
can
have
real
consequences,
and
it's
not
just
something
we
can
eliminate
overnight.
A
Once
again,
it's
been
so
ingrained
in
our
society,
we've
been
doing
it
for
so
long
and
we're
all
guilty
of
it
that
it's
going
to
take
a
long
time
and
a
lot
of
effort
on
all
of
our
parts
to
truly
solve
this
problem.
But
there
is
some
good
news.
There
is
a
ray
of
hope.
That's
that
we're
not
at
the
dystopian
worst
case
scenario.
Just
yet
it's
extremely
easy
for
someone
like
you
or
I,
to
overcome
any
of
these
things.
A
You
just
need
to
ignore,
avoid
or
verify
any
of
these
things
that
I
mentioned
and
you'll
essentially
stay
safe
chances
are
you've,
probably
come
across
some
of
these
things,
but
the
hard
part
is
always
being
vigilant
now
somewhat
ironically,
there
are
plenty
of.
There
are
plenty
of
resources
out
there
on
the
Internet
in
order
to
help
you
increase,
your
awareness
and
a
large
majority
of
people
are
able
to
navigate
a
large
majority
of
problems
that
come
their
way,
but
still
far
too
many
have
fallen
for
these
kinds
of
ploys.
A
Now
we're
teaching,
kids
and
schools
about
how
to
use
online
tools
safely.
We've
been
hammering
it
home
over
the
news
coverage,
but
that's
still
enough.
Otherwise
the
number
of
victims
wouldn't
be
increasing
as
rapidly
as
it
is
right.
Now
you
see,
we
know
about
the
problem
we've
known
about
it
for
a
long
time,
but
it
always
ends
up
fading
back
into
obscurity
until
another
big
scare
scandal
or
security
breach
brings
it
back
into
the
spotlight
the
only
way
to
truly
stay
safe.
A
All
the
time
is
to
be
alert,
be
up
to
date
and
be
educated,
be
smart
about
the
things
that
you
and
those
around
you
do
online
and
if
there's
just
one
thing
that
you
can
leave
with
today,
let
it
be
this.
You
are
more
than
capable
of
avoiding
these
subterfuges
tech
giants
and
independent
E's
have
stepped
up
to
the
plate
to
create
easily
accessible
resources.
All
for
the
public
to
utilize
for
free.
A
There
are
thousands
of
articles
and
resources
being
created
and
published
every
single
day,
and
maybe,
if
we
as
a
whole
brought
this
problem
off
of
the
back
burner
and
into
the
limelight.
We'd
see
some
true
improvement,
but
the
sad
reality
is
with
the
global
climate
right
now,
especially
with
the
pandemic,
things
are
going
to
get
a
lot
worse
before
they
get
any
better,
but
hopefully,
with
the
plentiful
tools
out
there,
us
and
those
around
us
can
navigate
this
social
media
minefield
just
a
little
more
safely.
Thank
you.