What comes to mind when you think of someone getting scammed? A grandma on the phone with some jerk? If so, this will probably surprise you.

The total money lost by teens in online scams grew by nearly 2,500% between 2017 and 2022. Victims under the age of 20 lost a staggering $210 million in 2022 alone.

Click here to read full story.

Social media is a place where we can loosen up a little. You can post jokes, silly pictures, or whatever on Instagram, X, Facebook and more. Unlike most social media sites, our sponsor, LinkedIn, is pretty buttoned-up.

You always need to put your best foot forward. After all, it’s where you connect with coworkers and find new careers. That means you should avoid being too personal since that can damage your credibility.

Click here to read full story.

Savvy internet surfers like us ignore those obnoxious “Claim Now” pop-up ads that promise free gift cards. We’re better than that. But there’s a new shopping app that I have been getting a slew of questions about whether it’s a good way to make some extra cash. So, I decided to check it out for you.

See you on the Flip side

It’s called Flip. Make an account and you can purchase products. Once you get whatever you bought, you can earn money for making a review in a TikTok-style video. Flip pays you when people buy products based on your reviews or if you refer someone to the app. You can use the credits to buy more stuff on Flip or transfer the cash to a bank account.

Click here to read full story.

New word for you: Grandfluencer. That’s grandparent + influencer for all the folks trading in retirement for social media fame. We’re talking millions of followers, thousands of comments … and a lot of money. One paid post can land a particularly big grandfluencer over $150K. 

Take 79-year-old Lynn Yamada Davis, for example. She rakes in a cozy six-figure salary from her Cooking With Lynja channels. Over 17 million people have watched her build a 10-foot hotdog and make popcorn with a hair straightener. Unusual? Yes. Entertaining? Definitely. 

Click here to read full story.

I read a stat that blew me away. HubSpot surveyed marketers and 78% say the industry changed more in the past three years than in the last five decades.

I agree, and it’s even more challenging to stay up to date with how much there is on all our plates. That’s where AI comes in. 

Click here to read full story.

Rumors have been swirling for years that Facebook will start charging. Before, it was fiction. Now? Well, it’s looking more like fact.

You can thank the latest European Union (EU) privacy regulations — and I mean that. These new regulations do a lot to protect the sensitive data of consumers like you and me. 

Click here to read full story.

With the intense war unfolding in Israel and Gaza, I bet your social media feed is loaded with photos and videos that can be so very difficult to stomach. From heart-wrenching scenes of hostage situations, beheadings, murders, bombings and other grim realities of war, it’s everywhere.

We all want to know what’s going on, no doubt. Many of these social media posts fill the void of official updates and reveal the brutalities of conflict. But — and this is a big BUT — not everything you see online is the real deal. Some content might be doctored or taken out of context and violate those depicted’s privacy and human rights.

Click here to read full story.

The images, stories and videos of Israel and Gaza are horrifying, aren’t they? You know what that fuels — a slew of misleading info making the rounds on social media. 

Have you seen that viral video showing an Israeli airstrike? It was being shared left and right on social showing Israel’s retaliation against a sudden attack by Hamas from last Saturday. But here’s the catch: That footage is old news from May, confirmed by Reuters.

Click here to read full story.

Would you stop a random stranger in the supermarket and say to them, “Do you think I’m ugly? Come on, be honest. Just say it like it is.” 

On the wildly popular Reddit forum “Am I Ugly,” this is exactly what is happening more than ever. Comments, posts and votes were up a whopping 1,986% in July compared to last year. 

Click here to read full story.

Emojis are fun, but when you think you’ve seen them all, an update brings a bunch more. Here are all the best new emojis that came along with iOS 16.4.

Feeling a bit confused with all the new Gen Z slang? The words young people throw around don’t always make sense. But don’t worry! I’m here to help you get on fleek with the lingo. (This will make sense to you in a moment). 

Click here to read full story.

I remember the first time I fired up TikTok to see what it was all about. In about 10 minutes, the darn app’s algorithms kicked into gear. On my feed, aside from people dancing all over the globe, were vids about vegetarian dishes, travel tips and golden retrievers. And you know what … it was pretty hard to put down, a total time suck. After three days, I removed it from my phone. 

About 150 million Americans hang out on TikTok for, on average, an hour and a half each day. It’s a big platform with significant money being made and spent. And you know what that means, scammers and lots of them.

Click here to read full story.

The internet is moving past “quiet quitting.” It’s when someone does the bare minimum at work, putting in only the effort required to get the job done.

Gallup’s latest worker poll found nearly six in 10 are quiet quitting. Less than a quarter of workers are truly engaged — 23% is a new record high. No surprise employee stress levels are also at record levels.

Click here to read full story.

A few years ago, a family member posted on Facebook that he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. My mother replied with LOL. She thought that meant “lots of love,” not “laughing out loud.” She was so embarrassed.

OMG, here comes another text or post filled with abbreviations you have to pretend to know. You can try to LOL your way out of the convo.

Click here to read full story.

Pop quiz: Where’s the most popular place in the U.S. — according to TikTok views?

Nope, not LA. It’s not NYC, either. It’s Miami!

Click here to read full story.

I can’t imagine we’ll stop saying “Google it” when referring to finding info online any time soon — but, in reality, the way people search the web is changing. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT are part of it, but don’t discount how many use social media to find information. 

If you run a business or have anything to do with products, marketing or sales online, consider this required reading.

Click here to read full story.

The web is chock full of hilarious snippets and screenshots of neighbors gone wild across the country, all documented in the Nextdoor app.

Like the house blasting “Sweet Child O’ Mine” for three days straight. Hey, there are worse songs. Or how about those friendly people around the corner offering free (already cut open) avocados and expired salad dressing? Umm, pass. 

Click here to read full story.

Spoofing social media accounts is one of the most common ways scammers try to trick victims. In this attack, cybercriminals will steal posts and pictures to create fake profiles to fool you. If you don’t know how to spot fake accounts, you could lose a ton of money to scams.

Verified account icons help you tell when a profile you’re looking at is official. One problem with Twitter is that anyone can purchase a blue checkmark now, making account verification difficult. Here are some ways to distinguish genuine social media profiles from convincing fakes.

Click here to read full story.

The more social media accounts you have, the more data companies collect on you. There’s an easy way to clean up your old posts from Twitter, Facebook, Imgur and more. Tap or click here for a tool that can automatically remove posts from over 20 sites and apps.

Some of us have been on Facebook for years, meaning we have several years’ worth of photos and videos stored there. If you’re ready to pull the plug, here’s how to get all your media off Facebook.

Click here to read full story.

Stumped as to why you can’t endlessly browse Twitter? Sorry, but you have to pay up. Twitter now limits how many tweets you can see. Pay for Twitter Blue ($84 a year) and you can read 6,000 daily. Otherwise, free accounts are limited to 600 tweets, and newbies can read just 300.

OK, let’s be honest. If you have time to read 6,000 tweets daily, just pay for it. Still, no one likes having to spend on what was once free, and the internet is up in arms.

Click here to read full story.

Your privacy is at risk if you have an internet connection. Every app and service tracks you to some degree, with some playing fast and loose with your data. Here are the most invasive apps.

It’s no secret that social media companies track almost everything you do, but which are the worst offenders? Check out the full report below.

Click here to read full story.