That Useless Kid Who’s On a Mission to Make People Useful
Vijay Kumar Gupta
Author | Cyber Security | CEH | CHFI | CYBER Awareness Training | Performance Marketer | Digital Marketing Expert | Podcaster
Introduction: The Tag That Sticks
Every school, every neighborhood, every family has that one kid who gets branded as “useless.” Maybe he doesn’t score well in exams. Maybe she doesn’t fit in with the crowd. Maybe he questions everything when the world expects him to obey. That kid becomes the black sheep, the outcast, the “failure.”
But here’s the twist: sometimes, that “useless kid” grows into the one who sees what others don’t. And in my case, that’s exactly how I found my way into the world of ethical hacking and cybersecurity — fields where questioning, doubting, and refusing to follow blind rules aren’t signs of weakness but marks of brilliance.
I was once called useless. Today, I’m on a mission to make people useful — not by forcing them into society’s narrow definition of success, but by teaching them how to protect themselves, their data, their privacy, and ultimately their lives in the digital world.
This is not just my story. It’s the story of thousands of hackers, cybersecurity enthusiasts, and misfits who turned their scars into shields.
Uselessness as a Label, Not a Reality
When you’re called useless, it’s rarely because you’re incapable. It’s usually because the system doesn’t know what to do with you.
A kid who draws on walls isn’t useless. He’s an unpolished artist.
A girl who spends hours on puzzles isn’t wasting time. She’s training her brain for pattern recognition — a hacker’s superpower.
A boy who dismantles gadgets isn’t destructive. He’s a reverse engineer in the making.
The world loves labels because it makes things simple. “Useless” becomes a convenient way to dismiss what doesn’t fit the mold. But here’s what they don’t tell you: in cybersecurity, the so-called useless traits are often the very things that save organizations from billion-dollar disasters.
I learned this when I realized my obsession with “breaking things” wasn’t destructive — it was the foundation of being an ethical hacker.
Curiosity: The Useless Trait That Built Hackers
The first time I touched a computer, it wasn’t to write an essay or play a game. It was to see if I could break the login password.
Back then, people thought, “This kid is wasting time.” But curiosity — the kind everyone called useless — turned into the most useful skill in my career.
Cybersecurity is built on curiosity. Every breach discovered, every vulnerability patched, every attack stopped comes from someone asking:
“What happens if I click here?”
“Why does this system trust that input?”
“Can I bypass this control?”
The world saw me as a nuisance. The hacking world saw me as family.
From Useless to Useful: The Turning Point
The real turning point came when I realized hacking wasn’t just about proving I could break things. It was about helping people who didn’t even know they needed help.
Think about it:
A grandmother doesn’t know her WhatsApp OTP scam is run by cybercriminals.
A teenager doesn’t realize his “free game mod” is malware.
A small business owner doesn’t suspect his email has been compromised until invoices start redirecting payments.
To them, cybersecurity is invisible. But to us, it’s a battlefield. And I decided I wouldn’t just fight on it for myself — I’d teach others how to defend themselves too.
That’s when “that useless kid” turned into a hacker on a mission: to make people useful by giving them the knowledge they were never taught.
Why People Feel Useless in Cybersecurity
Most people I meet in workshops, talks, or online communities tell me the same thing: “I don’t understand tech. I’m useless with computers.”
And it breaks my heart. Because it’s not their fault.
Schools don’t teach you how to recognize phishing. Colleges don’t show you how to manage digital identity. Parents don’t explain password managers. Society tells you to memorize formulas, but not how to spot fake apps that steal your banking details.
People feel useless in cybersecurity because they were never given the tools to feel useful.
That’s why my mission is not just to hack systems — it’s to hack mindsets.
The Hacker’s Mission: Making People Useful
So, how does a so-called useless kid help make others useful?
1. By Teaching Awareness
The most powerful weapon in cybersecurity isn’t a firewall or AI tool. It’s awareness. If I can teach one person to stop and think before clicking that suspicious link, I’ve saved them more than any software ever could.
2. By Turning Fear Into Confidence
People are afraid of technology because they don’t understand it. My role is to simplify the complex. Instead of overwhelming jargon, I use stories:
“That phishing email is like a stranger offering candy.”
“A weak password is like leaving your house key under the mat.”
When people relate, they learn. When they learn, they stop being useless.
3. By Building Communities
One kid learning cybersecurity is powerful. A community learning cybersecurity is unstoppable. That’s why I focus on open discussions, local meetups, and online groups where people feel safe asking “stupid” questions — because there are no stupid questions in this mission.
Ethical Hacking: The Useful Side of Being Useless
Most people think hacking is bad. But ethical hacking is proof that the same skills that break can also build.
The kid who loves to cheat video games learns exploit detection.
The teen who spends nights in chat rooms learns social engineering awareness.
The one who couldn’t sit still in class learns to thrive in dynamic cyber threat hunting.
The useless become useful because they’re trained to see what others ignore.
Stories From the Field
Let me share a few real moments from my journey that highlight this mission.
Case 1: The Business Owner
A small business owner came to me in tears after losing lakhs to a fake invoice scam. He thought he was useless with computers. But when I showed him how to verify email headers, set up two-factor authentication, and use digital signatures, his confidence transformed. He now teaches his entire staff cybersecurity basics. From useless to leader.
Case 2: The Teenager
A 16-year-old who was labeled “addicted to games” joined one of my online bootcamps. His “useless” obsession with cracking mods became the reason he quickly grasped penetration testing. Today, he’s building a portfolio to become a bug bounty hunter.
Case 3: The Homemaker
A homemaker thought she was “too old for tech.” She kept falling for scam calls. After learning how to spot red flags, she not only secured her devices but also became the go-to cybersecurity guide in her housing society.
Each story is proof: nobody is useless when given the right knowledge.
The Psychological Side of Uselessness
Being called useless doesn’t just hurt your ego. It builds a mental cage. You start believing you’ll never be good enough.
As hackers, we know the most dangerous vulnerabilities aren’t in systems but in human psychology. Cybercriminals exploit fear, doubt, and ignorance.
My mission is to break that cage. To turn “I can’t do this” into “I can learn this.” That’s when the shift happens.
Why This Mission Matters More Than Ever
We live in an age where data is the new oil and cybercrime is the new mafia. Everyone is a target. Everyone is vulnerable.
If people keep believing they’re useless with technology, they’ll keep falling victim. That’s exactly what criminals want.
But if we flip the narrative, if we show people that even the smallest step — like recognizing a scam call — is a victory, then suddenly the world becomes harder for attackers.
That’s why making people useful isn’t just a personal mission. It’s a societal necessity.
Lessons From the Useless Kid
After years in this field, here are the core lessons I’ve learned that I want to share with every so-called “useless” person:
Your curiosity is a gift. Never kill it because others don’t understand it.
Failure is research. Every broken experiment is data that makes you smarter.
You don’t need to know everything. You just need to know enough to protect yourself and keep learning.
Community is power. Alone you can secure a device, but together you can secure a generation.
Useless is temporary. With the right knowledge, every useless label can be rewritten.
Final Thoughts: The Legacy of the Useless Kid
Today, when people ask me what I do, I don’t say “I’m an ethical hacker.” I say, “I’m that useless kid who decided to make others useful.”
Because at the end of the day, hacking isn’t about computers. It’s about people. It’s about making the invisible visible. It’s about turning weakness into strength.
So if you’ve ever been called useless, remember: it’s just a label. And labels can be hacked.
The world needs more useless kids — because they’re the ones who end up changing everything.