Public blow job

Hey, everyone!
I recently finished my undergraduate degree in Tele-Radio Communications with emphasis on News (yay!). I’m not gonna go into grad school directly since I’m gonna be working for a year. However, I do plan on taking on grad school once the year is over.
My foremost options are International Relations / Public Affairs / Economics / Diplomacy / World History.
I’m not really interested in going into research, more so the knowledge and possible job prospects that the degrees in question can give me.
I want to go to a top school in Europe, like maybe Cambridge, Oxford or LSE. Maybe even a T15 in North America. I don’t actually know at the moment.
I did graduate Summa Cum Laude (3.96) and have a good number of internships in and out of my country, two awards, and very nice letters of recommendation.
Do I have a shot at getting into a international university and getting financial aid?
Thank you everybody in advanced!

I was recently terminated from my public accounting forensic litigation job. I think they were a bit insane how they went about it considering I always did what I was asked to do and never really had issues with anyone, but honestly I probably was one of the lower performers at my level in the office and I didn't really play the politics game like I should have to have anyone in my corner backing me up. I'm a CPA. I was at the forensic/litigation job for 2 years and did audit at B4 for 2.5 years. I got promoted to senior in audit (though I felt like i was bad at that job too and not sure how i got promoted lol, just because I'm a nice person and got lucky probably). I was making 100k in a big city. So that's my resume since getting out of college essentially.
I'm just not in a great place right now. I've been struggling with chronic pain for 2-5 years from functional dyspepsia (a gastrointestinal disease, it sucks). I get pain and discomfort practically any time I eat food, and I've seen countless doctors the past 5 years and they have had no solutions for me yet. I can only eat in very small portions to minimize pain, and I'm now a bit underweight because of this. Not saying this as some sort of sob story for sympathy I just want to tell you guys where I'm at right now. I definitely do think the daily pain has affected my work and my ability to stay motivated, especially in a job I'm just not that interested in. I know i have to just suck it up and deal with my circumstances but it's been difficult with my condition when there isn't clear answer showing light at the end of the tunnel.
Honestly I've felt like I'm just not that good at accounting since I started working. I was always above average to great student growing up but I feel like I'm at the point where I'm realizing I might just not be good or interested enough at accounting jobs, and should try to pursue something else. I feel like I really struggle staying focused, especially with difficult tasks. Although I do want to be fair to myself because I've gotten this far, and I've only done two separate types of accounting jobs and it's possible that I would excel at a different type of accounting job that isn't audit or forensic/litigation. I've been unemployed for 3 weeks.
But my reason for posting is more to ask if anyone has insight on what to do or what path to take. To be completely honest, where I'm at right now I just want a job that pays me at least decently (80k+?), but one where I can feel confident that I'm competent at the job and not in over my head. A position that wont overwhelm me or give me too long hours, I just don't think I can handle the extra stress with my condition and I want to be able to coast and be able to not feel overwhelmed so I can make money to stay afloat and figure my life out. I now people will say "you need to be more ambitious!!" but honestly I'm just trying to survive my life with pain and make a living in a job that doesn't mentally destroy me or have me on edge all the time. I don't mind plugging away at data entry or mundane type stuff.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to pursue the job search, or what path to take? I've heard indeed sucks, and the recruiters I've talked to so far haven't been that good or helpful. Is senior accountant somewhere in indursty my best bet at a lower stress job? Or Internal audit etc, or any type of public accounting? Open to any and all suggestions. I just want income so I have more time to decide how to live the rest of my life and if i want to keep pursuing accouting.
Thanks :)

I’m listening to the biography of Steve Jobs on Amazon Audible. I’m at the chapter where the iPod was first invented, and marketed to the public.
Apparently, Microsoft developed the Zune to compete with the iPod and barely made 5% of the iPod sales. I’m curious, did anyone in here use a Zune back in the day? Was it any good?

Hey all, I'm questioning my gender at the moment and am getting I guess impatient with myself to figure it out, lol. So I was wondering if any of you use non-binary as your 'public' gender and let yourself be more fluid underneath that, in reality. I'm a grown ass adult with a job and such, I can't be messing about with changing my name and pronouns multiple times, you know? Or do I just need to hold on until I feel some mythical certainty in my gender instead?? :(

I was recently terminated from my public accounting forensic litigation job. I think they were a bit insane how they went about it considering I always did what I was asked to do and never really had issues with anyone, but honestly I probably was one of the lower performers at my level in the office and I didn't really play the politics game like I should have to have anyone in my corner backing me up. I'm a CPA. I was at the forensic/litigation job for 2 years and did audit at B4 for 2.5 years. I got promoted to senior in audit (though I felt like i was bad at that job too and not sure how i got promoted lol, just because I'm a nice person and got lucky probably). I was making 100k in a big city. So that's my resume since getting out of college essentially.
I'm just not in a great place right now. I've been struggling with chronic pain for 2-5 years from functional dyspepsia (a gastrointestinal disease, it sucks). I get pain and discomfort practically any time I eat food, and I've seen countless doctors the past 5 years and they have had no solutions for me yet. I can only eat in very small portions to minimize pain, and I'm now a bit underweight because of this. Not saying this as some sort of sob story for sympathy I just want to tell you guys where I'm at right now. I definitely do think the daily pain has affected my work and my ability to stay motivated, especially in a job I'm just not that interested in. I know i have to just suck it up and deal with my circumstances but it's been difficult with my condition when there isn't clear answer showing light at the end of the tunnel.
Honestly I've felt like I'm just not that good at accounting since I started working. I was always above average to great student growing up but I feel like I'm at the point where I'm realizing I might just not be good or interested enough at accounting jobs, and should try to pursue something else. I feel like I really struggle staying focused, especially with difficult tasks. Although I do want to be fair to myself because I've gotten this far, and I've only done two separate types of accounting jobs and it's possible that I would excel at a different type of accounting job that isn't audit or forensic/litigation. I've been unemployed for 3 weeks.
But my reason for posting is more to ask if anyone has insight on what to do or what path to take. To be completely honest, where I'm at right now I just want a job that pays me at least decently (80k+?), but one where I can feel confident that I'm competent at the job and not in over my head. A position that wont overwhelm me or give me too long hours, I just don't think I can handle the extra stress with my condition and I want to be able to coast and be able to not feel overwhelmed so I can make money to stay afloat and figure my life out. I now people will say "you need to be more ambitious!!" but honestly I'm just trying to survive my life with pain and make a living in a job that doesn't mentally destroy me or have me on edge all the time. I don't mind plugging away at data entry or mundane type stuff.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to pursue the job search, or what path to take? I've heard indeed sucks, and the recruiters I've talked to so far haven't been that good or helpful. Is senior accountant somewhere in indursty my best bet at a lower stress job? Or Internal audit etc, or any type of public accounting? Open to any and all suggestions. I just want income so I have more time to decide how to live the rest of my life and if i want to keep pursuing accouting.
Thanks :)

Using my throwaway account bc my personal account has info that would make my identity obvious to people I know. Also apologies for the long post but I feel it’s best to explain my thought process.
First and foremost, I want it to be known that I typically have no issues with kids. As someone who has had a lot of experience in the childcare industry, I like to believe I have a lot of patience when it comes to dealing with children and their misbehaving. But recently at my apartment complex, I have met the end of my patience and I want to know whether what I’ve done is justified or if I really need to reassess everything I’ve done.
My apartment complex is known for its pretty tight on parking for residents (for example, there are probably 20 spots by my building which holds about 16-20 apartments.) There are no direct rules regarding parking in the normal spaces, as many people use them for guests or additional cars. This can cause some issues from time to time with finding parking anywhere near my building, but typically it doesn’t bother me too much because it’s to be expected for where I live. This limited space info is important regarding my situation.
My neighbors across the hall from me have two kids (roughly around 6 and 11) that they never take any responsibility for. As a tame example, we have a quiet hour set at our complex for people who work day jobs, which is 9:30PM on weekdays. There have been times these kids have been out in the hallway of the building screeching full volume (I am talking stuck pig, would’ve called to police out of fear of child endangerment had I not known this is just how they act kind of screeching) at close to midnight or even 1am on weeknights. It’s clear the parents are too entitled to do anything to stop it. To put it gently, it’s unbelievably obvious these kids have never had a single bit of discipline or structure a day in their lives and think they can do whatever they want with no consequence.
As summer is arriving in the area I live, people are beginning to spend more time outside of their buildings in the nice weather. The kids across the complex from me have also been enjoying this weather, which would normally be fine. However, they’re “enjoying” it so much that one of the kids (the 11 year old) has taken to completely blocking one of the few parking spots in my complex by parking his children’s bike in the middle of parking spots, preventing anyone from using some of them during the day. Around 8ish PM, the dad SOMETIMES will go out and bring the bike back into their apartment. Emphasis on sometimes. This is something I’ve talked to the father about before, as recently I’ve had to park over five, ten minutes away from my building because of his child’s three foot sized bike taking up an entire parking spot. The father just shrugged and laughed, and has done nothing about it since.
This next point is where I am unsure if I was the asshole or not.
Our complex has some pretty strict rules related to personal possessions being left out in public spaces (such as packages, planters, grills, and most relevantly bicycles) and has sent over a dozen emails to its residents stating they are not responsible for reimbursing a resident for any personal belongings removed from the public premises.
The other day I came home from a particularly stressful and tiring day at work, lo and behold the child was standing in the only parking spot left near my building with his bike parked next to him. I tried nicely asking the kid to please move his bike up to the sidewalk or his apartment so I could park. The kid stared at me for a moment before laughing as he left his bike in the middle of the spot and went inside. His father watched all of this unfold from their patio and did absolutely nothing.
Having to park about three buildings over from my apartment, I finally had enough. I called the security/admin line at my complex and reported the kid’s bike for taking up a parking spot. Within half an hour, the maintenance team showed up and took the bike away, most likely to either donate it or throw it away.
The next morning I woke up to the child screeching and crying out in the parking lot about his bike being taken. His dad came out, and putting the the pieces together, felt the need to bang on my patio door and yell at me for upsetting his kid and costing him a new bike. Pissed at having been woken up at close to 7 in the morning on my day off, my only response to the father was “play stupid games, win stupid prizes” before shutting the door and going about my normal day. Part of me feels justified about finally teaching these people a lesson in humility, but there is still a part of me that feels bad that this kid now won’t have a bike for the majority of this summer.
Am I the asshole?
TL:DR a kid acted like he owned an apartment complex parking lot, got a rude awakening when the bike he took up an entire parking space with was thrown away by maintenance, and now his dad (who encouraged the behavior) is pissed.

I’m in my early 20s and was only recently diagnosed a few months ago. I was properly diagnosed with ADHD as a child and that gave me some peace of mind, because at least there was something specific wrong that I could put a name to. But still I felt like there was something more wrong with me, and I didn’t know what it was or why no one else seemed to have the same problems - until I got diagnosed with autism, and that’s been genuinely life-changing.
I’ve been binging Taskmaster and finally got to Series 14. Fern easily and immediately shot to the top of my list of my favorite contestants, because I found something about the way she carried herself so relatable, but I didn’t know why until I found out she’s autistic too. Ep. 9, with her bottle opener prize and cat monologue in Munya’s play task, was what really got me, because they were so authentic in a way that I often find myself too scared to be, and yet everyone else responded so positively! It was the kind of thing I’d assumed would never be possible for me. I’ve had so many moments after diagnosis where I wondered whether I’d ever be able to “fit in” with normal society, and a few times when admittedly I would feel resentful for my autism making things so much harder. Even if I know for a fact that my autism is a huge reason why I’m good at my very specific job, which I love it because it feels like the thing I was made to do: that’s still something that’s hard to remember and appreciate when every conversation still feels like a puzzle I’m too dumb to solve, yet everyone else seems to have no problem at all and just laughs or stares whenever I break a rule I didn’t even know existed.
Having discovered it after listening to her episode on the Taskmaster Podcast, I recently finished reading Fern’s book, Strong Female Character, and it was so incredible to see a public figure describing these same experiences that I’ve never seen anyone else articulate. My childhood wasn’t nearly as tumultuous as Fern’s but the whole experience of seemingly outwardly studious and high-achieving, and so no one takes you seriously when you keep telling them something is wrong and just assumes you’re manipulative or bad when you’re mostly just confused or upset, is dead-on for me, and it’s unexpectedly validating to read that someone else has gone through the same thing.
All of that is to say: I’m so, so grateful that I discovered this book and have already marked down a lot of the resources it references for later reading, but I would have never known about it if Taskmaster hadn’t given Fern Brady a platform to be her authentic self in a way that made it halfway across the world to me in Los Angeles (yes, I am devastated that I didn’t discover her in time to attend her show here just earlier this month). I know that Fern sometimes lurks in this sub so if you see this, I’m so genuinely thankful for you being so outspoken but also so chill about your autism. One of the things I’ve been struggling with is reconciling how my autism has affected every single moment of my life with how I also don’t want it to be the only part of me that other people see; and in classic autistic fashion, I’ve already been looking to you and your book as a guide on how to do that. And thank you so much to LAH and the Taskmaster team for making such a wonderful show that’s so welcoming and joyful that it allows for fans like me to have experiences like this.
As a wise, Scottish cat once said, “We all seek meaning in our lives, no matter how trivial it looks on the outside.” Taskmaster may seem trivial, even ridiculous and insane, from the outside, but I feel like it’s also a stunning example of the importance of diversity and reputation because of how much it can mean to people in the audience, and for that I’m eternally grateful.
(I’m less grateful to TM for eternally traumatizing me with Mike Wozniak by ensuring I can never look at a casserole the same way again, but given the rest of my post, I’m willing to write that one off.)

GUYS, i desperately need to become a shift you don't understand. It's not just the pay increase and guaranteed hours but I am SOOOO bored!! I will not quit are you kidding me, management and corporate behave like they've been infected with the devil but this competitive pay and benefits talk LOUDERRRRRRR HELLOOO. Im a uni student who relies on public transit so till i sav enough for a car most of my shifts would b like mids and opens when I'm an SSV
I've come to learn that this job is very personality based. I would describe myself as a focused, hardworking, no nonsense person. I literally do not feel the need to engage in conversation on the floo never initiate unless I see a cute new tattoo/hair colour my fellow barista is sporting or need to complain and that's abt it. I'm an extremely good convesationlist (I mostly xercise this w customers duhhh) but when I'm at work my focus is get in, do what I know and gtfo because I don't see them as friends they are my COWORKERs; Im telling you all this because I definitely think ur personality is a big part of how u go abt working at Starbucks at least that's what I've observed. I definitely always keep my pay in mind ($18.34 Ontario, Canada) and I refuse to work as if I'm two ppl. I work efficiently, with intentional movement so I can maintain AT LEAST where I'm deployed whether it's bar, DTO, warming etc etc, wherever I'm placed, I make sure my environment is beautiful, stocked, and functional because I refuse to operate in mess (and as a lil treat for the barista after me) and disorganation idgaf abt DT times, customers waiting, why would I spend 10 mins sliding on a slippery floor when I can mop it up in under a min??? come on nowwww cleanliness NEEDS to come first and it always will for me. You will not find me leaving spills, messes etc etc for late someone else
My manager is a great, beautiful and lovely as a PERSON, but is truly MS.Trunchbull on the floor so much so I've considered switching to the night team so i don't have to deal with her as much. She is prepared to help me with my shift but she's very DIY abt it, like I have to figure everything out myself she says things like we'll go as fast or slow as u want to go (I was alr warned by this b4 transferring) . She is VERY standard I'm pretty sure she even has a siren tat i hope i never see it bc u actually need to stop drinking the kool-aid lady like pls. She wants me to focus on coaching ppl as a barista which I've attempted (mainly on cleanliness, beverage accuracy, greeting." : but bro....these ppl literally dgaf... even when SSV's coach them. I've tried saying things like:
"I love how fast you're getting out drinks, I know speed is important, but wiping your bar and putting things back immediately will actually help with that and if you need support with that i could give u a hand"
"I cant belive ur done the pull!! that was fast, dont forget to collapse the boxes so garbage runs are less time consuming thanks so much"
"Omg this is so me, I always forget that the new refreshers come w a nitro lid too, if we're out do mind replacing it w a dome lid thankssss"
"Omg guys i look so silly when i greet by myself pls next time can we do it in harmony pls ill send u money"
I've learned that starting with a compliment is the most effective way
Being a barista u can turn ur brain off but it becomes mind numbing when ur well integrated into the job. I transferred from a cafe only with ppl who behave like its high school to the busiest drive thru in the district with less problematic ppl (as a girl + gay, sometimes the girls and gays get too comfortable and forget where they are). The SSVs here are extremely overworked/stressed out and attacked verbally you knowww the typical suck them dry run around. I'm the type of person who refuses to let a job such as Starbucks behave as if I owe them my life, I have great communication skills, I communicate problems, ask for support and just overall vocal. I refuse to get stressed on the job its just low value coffee pls relax. Sometimes the best ways to respond are: ok, understood, thanks for the feedback, got it etc etc. Even irate costumers cant get to me ill just be like sorry bout that bro, remake, refund or SSV which one u want.
I'm very casual abt my approach to the job, down to my work clothes (everyone says I always look so comfortable, BECAUSE I AM!) cause I refuse to treat it as the corporate environment it masquerades as, if ur not gonna put me on salary imma act like an hourly!!!! Even when I'm a shift (I'm very confident I will eventually get the position, God willing) I will take ALL my breaks and lunches IRDGAFFF
I need all tips and advice to become a Baista Trainer, Shift and then the best way to do the job while keeping cleanliness and well being of my fellow coworkers on the floor. Like I said, my manager is very DIY like all she tells me is coach and b a leader like ok, girl sure but I'm not gonna undermine the SSV. The environment i want to mimic, is basically old starbucks, a clean, well oiled machine, where baristas are actually happy and dont behave robotic when it comes to connecting or r just so BURNT OUT!
I feel like barista's at my store are scared to make mistakes, admit them too, are stressed and just feel pressure. I want to change this narrative at least when its my floor. Focus will b efficiency, and guess what DT times actually do nottt mean shit, they can yell all they want but if there's valid reasons for the time displayed and standard was upheld u literally can't knock me for it! and if i did something wrong of course I can b accountable. Im ok with being a by the book person (for me, I'm not gonna impose thison baristas, do it ur away as long as u get the right results) it doesn't bother me in fact its better bc its just makes things more straightforward
i dont plan to b strict, overbearing or whatever I'm literally trying to replicate a cozy cafe as much as i can which starts with happy baristas hellooooo. I want everyone to feel like they can freely communicate with me/ ask for support/ or just b honest and tell me things like if they physically cant handle being on like DTO anymore.
PLS give me every tipe advice u have I literally will b taking notes, Im literally thinking about making a digestable ultimate barista guide for anyone i train. thank u so much in advance and dont let this job stress u ever its not worth it, USE ALLLL ur benefits and stay happy and grateful luv u guys

If you read this, thank you in advance.
I'm the third one of 5 siblings. I've been taking care of both my parents since 2016 till my dad passed away at 90 y.o. during the pandemic. A year before it, my older sister also passed away, which was a big blow for my parents. Now it's mom and me. Younger brother lives close, but won't even call mom to check how she's doing. Younger sister lives in another country and tries to be in touch through video calls, but most of the times mom is not in the mood or something happens. My older brother takes care of all the paperwork and makes sure all bills get paid and tries to come see her after work a couple of times during the week. Since January, after my mom needed surgery (colostomy), I have a live-in nurse, 5 days a week.
The main thing is that I never got along very well with my mom. I realized life was getting harder for my parents, some kind of accident was bound to happen any day (kettle on the fire, open gas, falls, you name it) so as I was single, I decided to move in with them. I was renting at that time, but between my job (+12 hours/day Tuesday thru Sunday, plus every other Monday) and getting groceries, cooking and keeping company to my parents, I barely spent time in my place. It was like a big and expensive storage unit.
For a while it was ok. I wasn't home a lot, they had someone who "helped" with the house chores (and managed to steal a lot of stuff in the meantime) and they didn't need assistance to walk, bathe and we're pretty independent. That was till they discovered the "help" was stealing and she resigned (after blaming me for stealing?).
Then the pandemic had us all locked up at home and my dad started to decline fast. So basically, it was just mom and me watching him going down at a very fast pace. He would come and go to and from the hospital several times during that process and once he didn't return.
The next day of my dad's passing, I was called back to go to work. And that's when this all started. My mom (about to turn 92 now) started calling me on the phone several times a day, asking me to return home, which I couldn't till my shift was over. That went on for about a year. I had the chance to retire with 30 years of service and at the (sort of) young age of 51. All was good for a couple of months. But my mom has always been a bit controlling and she demands that I tell her everything I'm doing. She sees me walking into the kitchen and she asks Where are you going? I go to the bathroom? She wants to know what for. I admit sometimes I don't answer properly. What am I supposed to say when she asks me what I'm going to do in the bathroom?
If I tell her I'll go get some groceries, when I return, she's pissed off because I took too long. The shop is around the corner, so the longest it takes me is 15 minutes, if it's crowded. My social interactions are when I go out for groceries or meds. If I went out for a coffee (God forbid!) she wanted to know where I'd be, with whom, how long it'd take... Maddening!! I told her that after being on this planet for more than half a century, I deserved some space for myself, without needing my mom's permission to breathe. She went on pestering me, so I stopped going out almost completely.
But that's not the problem. Like I said, we never got along very well. So when I didn't live with her 24/7/365, I could tolerate her criticism. I would laugh it off and leave. But now it seems that she's determined to break me. Nothing I do is good enough, everything could be improved. She keeps finding new ways to humiliate me and make me feel stupid. Some days I don't mind, but others I just can't take it and blow out. She's mean on purpose. She says nasty things and keeps going till I leave the room. Then she's satisfied and joyfully says: "Oh! That bothered you? Come on! I was joking!". Why is she doing that? Jealousy. Because she thinks I took better care of my dad. But he was almost blind, almost deaf, bedridden and had trouble swallowing, so all his meals needed to be prepared very carefully.
Except for the colostomy, mom's health is better than mine. She has no dietary restrictions, her heart works great, no lung issues, nothing. Before the colostomy she was independent. Now she refuses to walk. And yes, she can do it when she wants. It's just that she doesn't want to get better. She said that if she does, she won't have the attention she's getting now.
She knows I had plans for my retirement years, but she told me she's entitled to my company since " You don't have a life like your siblings". I know, for some people the only life worth living is if you have a family. I chose to be alone. But I don't think I should be punished for my life choices.
Anyway, despite her being so judgemental, I don't neglect her. Each time I go out, I get her something she'd like. Chocolates, sweets, pastries, whatever I know she enjoys. She says she'd like to have something, before the week is gone, she gets whatever she asks for and she's happy, at least for a few moments... But of course, once she has it, she doesn't want it anymore. And wants something else. I cook whatever she asks me to prepare. I thonestly try my best to have her happy. But I feel it's useless. She always finds something to complain.
Having to clean her and change the colostomy bag doesn't bother me. I did it for my dad, so it's fine. Anyway it's only a couple of days a week now. I'm ok with it. What drives me nuts is the neverending nagging. I told her that if she keeps bothering me, I'll leave and she knows that my brothers won't give up their lives to come live with her and she'll end up in a nursing home. I've talked to my brothers and they tell me to be "more!" patient and to brush off what she says. Yeah! Easy when they don't have to deal with it 24/7. They don't come and stay with her for a few hours when they're free. They just make a short visit and leave. And I just want to scream when I hear them telling me to "be more patient".
I'm absolutely worn out, depressed, overwhelmed, angry and defeated. Why do I stay? Because the other option is a nursing home and she won't last long there.
Sometimes I think that I should just pack my bags and let things happen.
I know I made a mistake when I moved back with them. But I was spending so much time here, that it seemed the natural thing to do. Wrong! I'm a loner. I've always been independent. If I wanted to travel, I would just pack and leave. I enjoy being by myself and not talking to anyone for several days, and having to live with someone permanently and taking care of their needs is like Hell.
Now I feel like I'm stuck here and there's not much I can do without jeopardizing my mom's last years. But I don't know how long I'll be able to live like this. Each day I feel more drained and hopeless.
Sorry, it's too long, but I needed to get this out. Thanks for reading.

Note: as the original subreddit this story was hosted on originally has been shut down. I've decided to repost this story here in the Ripe Stories subreddit. I'm also updating it, and correcting it somewhat for clarification. I believe ripe read it some years ago in a video. but here goes Hope you enjoy
the background of the story starts in the late '70s, early '80s. My dad had just moved to town, barely going out with my mom. my dad was down on his luck and out of a job just moving to the area when he applied to a local Publication company. The company published a newspaper, a pair of magazines, and on occasion some large local event-related specials. The Publication firm offered Dad a job at the lowest level in the printing presses. Dad takes the job eagerly. Dad for the next 20 years moves his way through the various parts of the company doing multiple positions with always very pleased managers. Dad always went above and beyond for his coworkers (fills in for them no questions asked, takes overtime, and Volunteers for the harder assignments.) Dad made it to the supervisor levels but got moved so he could know the whole business in its entirety.
(Me, personally I grew up in the '90s and lived to watch this whole thing through till the last moment. I find myself thinking fondly of watching him work, watching him talk, and sitting in his office with his coworkers. )
in 2000 the publication company was bought out from a private owner and sold to a smallish publication firm. That firm only held it for a few years before selling it to the highest bidder, and so a larger publication firm took it over.
The new company starts by firing anyone non-union and hires new staff at a lower wage. Slowly the company begins to fire union members by using various methods. In that time Dad had seen a great many good coworkers be either retired, fired, or forced out. Dad went through a great many bosses. Dad had an older Legacy Union contract so they definitely would have trouble firing him. So the company moved Dad through varying departments and finally as a last ditch effort they move him to work in the distribution department. The company called it a horizontal promotion.
Dad worked in that department till 2011. At the start of 2011, Dad was introduced to a young new Manager, "The Kid" Dad called him. (Considering Dad's age, anyone could have been called a kid.) Dad was asked to train the kid on how Dad did his job so well.
So Dad took the kid along for a ride along. Dad likes to use the personal touch when it comes to meetings. Rather than over the phone or in email, Dad prefers sit-downs and in-person meetings with people. So Dad took the "kid" to varying convenience stores, salons, and just about anywhere the publication would be either displayed, subscribed to, or sold. Dad always kept up with new shops in the area so he could make appointments with varying store owners and have new places for sales. the kid stayed in the car or was more occupied with his smartphone. Dad also showed the kid how to do research and write up Projection reports. Keep in mind, these Projection reports were Voluntary (NOT REQUIRED), but the higher ups appreciated them and they also helped Dad keep his job.
Now each year my father would put in Bid for a territory in the distribution department. I should note Dad also taught the kid how to make his own bid. The bid itself consisted of basically how much it would cost to do his job (including operation costs, fuel, etc), and then show how much distribution he could gain over that year. He each year alongside his Bid would include his projection report as evidence. (for clarification: You wanted to have a larger distribution but for the lowest cost, as far as the company was concerned). The Kid Notes to Dad Hes gonna place a bid on a territory. Dad encourages him. Dad was shocked when he found out he was outbid by the kid for the same territory. the kid had well underbid my dad by 50%. The Kid's strategy was to use cold calls, email, and ads for new distribution. He Projected his sales to double over the next year by cutting staff and "needless" driving around. Dad knew the kids report was falsified as his figures didn't make any mathematical sense. dad knew the company lived on these reports and warned his higher-ups once he got to see "the kid's Projection report.
Since Dad's bid was rejected, the company used this as an excuse to fire my father. Dad packed his desk and left. On the day Dad was fired, he realized he never submitted the projection report to his higher-ups and since that report was Voluntary, Dad withheld the report out of pettiness. Dad found out through a friend/ former coworker, that the Kid was a plant from the Parent company. he was solely hired to outmaneuver my father. (nothing we can prove due to lack of evidence) He had access to my father's bid (the bids were supposed to be kept secret, only known to the company, not the distributors) and as said earlier faked his Projection report.
Dad was hurt, but dad decided to pick himself up and started a convenience store. In the following years, at Dad's former job, the kid messed up time after time. What the kid didn't know was two things. First was certain allowances like travel fuel expenses, Budget for buying shelf space, etc.. Basically, the company was paying Dad to drive to the locations and stir up new business. the second thing (and a bigger one) Dad had made a Prediction in his Projections. His prediction was that distribution was going to plummet. why? the app-based and digital-based market was growing. People were now able to get their publications on smartphones, via their email or read directly on their computer on a web browser. The kid put in another bid the next year and the year following. Each time the company went along with him and they lost more and more distribution. Convenience stores were no long going to be carrying any of their publications due to loss of sales and strained relationships. Home subscriptions were going to rival publications that already had a digital presence, and so the company was barely holding on. The publication blamed the kid for the sales loss, and for not seeing this on the horizon.
They approached my father 3 years after firing him, begging him to return. Dad said "absolutely no" to his former managers.
Dad ended up starting a chain of 3 convenience stores. meanwhile, his former job, the publication company, tried to stir up a digital version too little too late. the company is now a shadow of what it once was. Dad's last contact inside told us the following: you can't really find their publications in any convenience stores, The printing press is now in another state, The home delivery department constantly tries to fight with USPS for lower delivery costs, and the distribution department was whittled down to 2 people (formally 12.) They're down to a single magazine and a newspaper that nobody heard of.

Throwaway account for obvious reasons. So I have been working for the same person for close to 20 years. We have been through a lot together as I am a personal assistant In the last few years, things have been changing, but I have adapted and I have always done the right thing for this person. In the past year, This person has been acting really weird. They are hiding things around the house and now accusing me of stealing all sorts of things. They have told multiple other people that I am stealing things however refused to fire me for some reason. What makes this situation even more complicated is that I am live in. Not in the same house, but really close. If I quit and walk away, I am left with nothing and no way to support my family. Also, I am fairly certain that they will tell everyone that will listen that I’m a thief when these allegations are completely false. I’m worried that I won’t be able to get another job in my industry because of these allegations. This past year has been so hard and I’m kicking myself for not figuring something else out before it came to this. Now I’m kind of stuck, and I don’t see until something blows up also, this person technically does not pay me so technically, they can’t fire me, but if they don’t want me there, I won’t be able to go there for sure. I’m not the type of person to sue someone. My name is getting smeared in the dirt and that’s all I have. I really like the whole rest of the family so I don’t want to ruffle any feathers. I don’t know what to do. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Think about this from a meta level. It's a democracy. The 2 sides need issues to publicly debate and disagree on. But almost every issue that is actually RELEVANT to most people... is a threat to those in power.
So those with the real power, those with money, and the major media platforms, feed infinite oxygen to issues that aren't a threat to them. The two biggest culprits being abortion and gun control. You don't lose ad revenue talking about them. Ditto to other "culture war" topics.
So we debate these relatively trivial subjects, while WE ARE MONTHS AWAY FROM DEMOCRACY POTENTIALLY ENDING IN THE MOST POWERFUL COUNTRY ON EARTH AND SLIPPING INTO FASCISM.
JFC get your priorities in order. Germany wasn't NEARLY as powerful as the US when they went fascist. Think about the global stakes here.
We should push for and fight for any gun control policies which are demonstrated to be effective, and are supported by an overwhelming majority of people. Like universal background checks, no loopholes. Usually polls over 90%.
But anyone who thinks we should lose votes, election, power, and descend into fascism to try and ban guns? Why? To save lives? First there are hundreds of ways we could save far more lives that are much more popular. (Universal healthcare for starters...) Secondly in order to ban guns in any way that would actually be effective, is A. entirely politically impossible in the US for the foreseeable future. Delusional to think otherwise. And B. would cause more loss of life than the status quo. It would take cops doing raids door to door. Imagine that bloodshed.
Having a strong anti-gun position and feeding into this entirely worthless debate, is literally harmful. We literally cannot solve any issue by opposing guns in the US. It's not at all the root issue. We could buy any kind of gun like buying a hammer in the US for like 200 years. When the revolutionary war began, we had cannons. How? Because they were privately owned... You could buy fully automatic weapons for ages after they became available.
But we had less mass shootings, less suicides, less gun deaths overall. Because guns aren't the issue. Happy people with a shot at a good life don't kill anyone with guns or otherwise. Have universal healthcare including mental, universal jobs guarantee and free higher education and battle social alienation by bringing back third places, and that would do far more to help reduce gun deaths than a wholly useless battle to ban guns will. (Which is nothing. The latter accomplishes literally nothing but to flush the lefts political capital down the toilet.)
This is the bullshit liberal placebo version of politics that prevents us from doing anything that actually helps the problem. It is anti-leftist to be anti-gun, at least in the US. It's throwing away political capital when we've never needed it more.
If I'm wrong I'd absolutely want to know, I've pivoted on most other issues, but at this point I can't imagine how. These premises and logic are rocksolid. I'd debate it against anyone, on any platform. I haven't even started on whether, in a perfect world, we should be pro or anti gun, because realistically, it doesn't matter in the US.
The only reason this isn't a dead issue is, again, because it's an op to flush the lefts political capital.
Please stop falling for it, or show how I'm wrong.

I'm 24, and I've just finished my degree. I started at 21 rather than straight out of school because I did not have a clue what I wanted to pursue.
I have now completed a degree, and I honestly feel like it was a waste. I am lost about what to do with it. I have completed a degree and a certificate in Digital Marketing and Public Relations, yet I don't know how to use any current applications to design brand identities, brands, and advertising content such as Adobe Suite, Photoshop, and Illustrator, which they told us we would need but never taught us. They touched on everything such as wordpress and photgraphy and content creation with Canva but have not really developed our skills in any of these. Anyway, they gave us a lot of theory that really hasn't applied to anything people are looking for when I go to apply for jobs.
So I am stuck with a degree that I think is pretty useless. I feel like a failure and so old because I still live at home. I have no idea what direction to go. I have so many interests and hobbies in writing and art, and I wanted to pursue this career in marketing to put two of my passions to use and create my own brand/company. But I don't even know how I would go about that or looking for work/experience or even where to start with going more in-depth with my skills or how to build a portfolio. I feel like my degree has failed me for what it was supposed to provide, and I don't know where to go from here.
I feel so helpless and alone, and I really just can't see myself finishing anything I start because I get so discouraged. I am in a place where I should be happy to start my career, but I'm broke, and depressed, and constantly anxious about where to go with my life and how to move on and up. I feel stuck.

Navigating The Privacy Tightrope: User Concerns on Social Media Engagement

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Abstract
This study analyses consumer concerns about privacy in social media engagement, the factors influencing these concerns, and provides strategies for handling them. To achieve this objective, this paper provides feedback on two vital questions (What are the primary concerns of social media users regarding privacy? And What factors contribute to these concerns?) that guide this research. The paper uses qualitative analysis to obtain analyze data. Lastly, the paper provides suggestions for future research and solution
I. INTRODUCTION
In the current digitized world, many people are increasingly sharing their information with the public through social media. However, this act of sharing their details through electronic gadgets such as smartphones has and still increases the risk of privacy violations as people engage through social media. One of the events that significantly deepened consumer privacy concerns in the United States was the Cambridge Analytica data breach on Facebook half a decade ago, which affected many user accounts in the land. This data breach initiated the #deletefacebook movement across social networking sites culminating in many users reconsidering their connections with social media platforms about their trustworthiness, and potential for confidential issues. For one section of users, this meant signing out of these sites while the other section considered it as a chance to reset their confidential settings. According to Bright et al, user privacy concerns differ across sites in the user journey, and only a few sites are developed equally when it comes to user concerns as well as disclosures specifically in connection to social networking sites (1). Throughout this duration of redefining their connections with social networking sites, users find themselves coping with the "privacy paradox" and despite having privacy concerns, online users persist in disclosing their private details for distinct reasons, rather than safeguarding their details online. Therefore, this paper investigates [consumer concerns about privacy in social media engagement, and factors influencing these concerns, and provides strategies for handling them]().
A. Research problem
Social media plays a significant role in promoting interaction and sharing of information among users from all over the world. However, sharing of information over social media sites has and still increases the risk of privacy violations as people engage through social media. It's from this, that this paper settled on evaluating the consumer concerns about privacy in social media engagement, factors influencing these concerns, and providing strategies for tackling them.
B. Aim and Objectives
This study is determined to analyze the user concerns about privacy in social media engagement, highlight the primary factors influencing these concerns, and provide recommendations on desired approaches for handling them.
C. Research question
[1. What are the primary concerns of social media users regarding privacy?]()
2. What factors contribute to these concerns?
II. EXTENDED BACKGROUND
Social media has grown to become the modern-day routine. Currently, many social networking sites are continuing to integrate to offer distinct digital affordances as well as chances to enlarge individual networks, interactions, and information sharing. The availability of these sites has significantly culminated in to rise in user engagement. For instance, TikTok is among the most used sites with a massive following of more than 750 million accounts. Currently, people are becoming more open to sharing individual data and with the aid of the modern digital culture, this has been made possible by utilizing the availability of internet service. Although social media is considered to be of great significance in facilitating communication and entertainment among users, it also stores noticeable repositories of individual details that culminate to privacy concerns. This threat of privacy breaches has continuously increased as social media are frequently accessed through applications on cell phones, where a substantial number of identifiable data is stored, aggregated, and linked across various social networking sites.
Even as the issue of privacy threat has attained massive attention and recognition, especially among people who use these platforms, many studies have reported the concept of privacy paradox, which implies discrepancies involving persons' habits of disclosing individual details and their concern concerning privacy threat. Even though social media users have an increasing concern concerning privacy on media platforms, they are willing to proceed to disclose their data for various gratifications. According to Chen et al, some social media users always show or rather demonstrate reduced effort to offer safety on their confidentiality despite showing significant concern associated with social media (2). On the contrary, there is also a section of social media consumers who are not naive in their revel actions (2). This brings us to an analysis of the historical evolution of social media platforms, the emergence of privacy concerns, and important theoretical frameworks particularly privacy calculus.
Typically, the rise of privacy is significantly connected to the fast growth of technologies and the growing nature of the modern digital space. History shows that privacy was mainly linked with physical and individual interactions. During this time, people were interacting at their homes and with immediate families. However, this was significantly changed by the massive evolution in the digital world. The development of social media sites, and the level of connectivity they provide initiated a new era of unprecedented access to individual information. The new developments have made it simple for people to share their stories and even sensitive information with just one click significantly subjecting one to underlying privacy perils. The world is experiencing significant growth or cases in several data breaches leading to massive breaches of private data to the public. Hackers always target unsuspecting firms or companies to access important details such as the profile of clients or company records which could result in various forms of exploitations. When such a breach happens, it severely affects both the company and the individuals because while the person's data is compromised so is the deterioration of trust in the organization by the public.
Privacy calculus (shown in Figure 1 in the appendix section) refers to the comprehension of privacy as well as safety trade-offs of a certain innovation or firm. It assumes that individuals will divulge individual details whenever the perceived rewards or advantages outweigh the potential cost. Kehr et al. ascertain that the choice of sharing information is associated with privacy calculus as the equilibrium between the rewards and the hazards of revealing individual details or data. A person's privacy calculus can be impacted by several factors including but not limited to the perceived value of the details being revealed and the repercussions of the disclosure. Additionally, the cultures and factors within the society might considerably influence privacy caliculus These factors include but are not limited to societal norms associated with privacy in specific locations. Research has indicated that the threshold of diversity which is always accompanied by the growing society has some considerable effect on the withdrawal from the globe making people even more sensitive to what they share with the public.
III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study used a qualitative approach in analyzing the user concerns on social networking site engagement. Primarily, this method was applied in this study because it offers a significant opportunity for the researcher to devolve deeply into but not limited to nuances of consumer experiences, viewpoints as well as emotions. Compared to a quantitative approach which only focuses on numerical as well as statistical evaluations, the selected approach here delves deeply into the underlying inspirations, feelings, and means that drive consumer connections online. Approaches such as but not limited to interviews and focus groups provided a substantial opportunity for the researcher to unveil the intricate web of norms and values that significantly impact how consumers interact and their perception of social media sites.
Additionally, the qualitative approach substantially enabled the researcher to attain different consumer concerns. According to Van der Vlist, and Helmond, social networking sites are characterized by a sophisticated structure that comprises different cultures and subcultures with distinct practices as well as concerns (3). By applying a qualitative approach, an investigator can therefore attain immediate information precisely on the experiences of consumers over different populations, and locations. This great understating is significant because it helps to design comprehensive as well as consumer-centric sites that cater to the different requirements as well as tests of the audiences across the world.
Moreover, the qualitative approach offered the researcher a flexible and adaptable experience especially when analyzing emerging issues within social media and user engagement. As indicated by, Reynolds, and Bennett, the qualitative approach allows the use of their analytical paradigms to suit the certain features of emerging issues encompassed in social media as well as consumer involvement (4).
When collecting data, the research applied the following types of qualitative methods:
A. Interviews
Interviews offered a significant platform for participants to articulate their concerns using their own words thus providing the researcher with the desired information on the experiences and viewpoints of people using the complex domain of social media. By applying the open-ended questions, the researcher was able to analyze the profound inspirations that significantly provided limelight to the intricacies of social media. Besides, interviews helped in contextualizing the user concerns in the wider brackets of social and cultural settings in which they take place. By involving the respondents in the study through discussion, the researcher was able to identify factors that significantly influence consumers'' viewpoints and habits including but not limited to peer pressure and cultural ideals. The contextual comprehension offered great support especially in deciphering the motive behind consumer concerns and coming up with solutions or rather strategies that perfectly resonate with the distinct array of consumers globally. Lastly, the interview helped to foster significant discourse that involved the researcher and respondents. This helped in cementing trust and the needed help that improved the credibility of the research.
B. Questionnaires
This study also used questionnaires to obtain relevant data that assisted in the completion of this research. Typically, questionnaires are valuable equipment issued when collecting data because they can gather a significant number of standardized information effectively. This study started by clarifying the objective of the questionnaires to participants. The researcher applied an open-ended type of questionnaire and crafted questions that aided in the collection of data from the respondents. The questionnaires were delivered to participants through email surveys that significantly aligned with the features of the sample group as well as the study aims. The clarity of the communication in the email and privacy substantially fostered participant involvement in the study. Besides, the researcher ensured that the information provided through this tool was secured and systematically organized to foster the analysis of information. In a nutshell, the study implemented effective usage of questionnaires in collecting vital data in the study. The researcher adhered to the best practices and embraced the spirit of iterative refinement thus harnessing the complete ability of the questionnaires and advanced knowledge concerning user concerns on social media engagement.
The sampling technique applied in this study was purposeful approach. This approach is broadly applied in qualitative studies to identify data-rich scenarios for the most efficient usage of scarce resources (5). The sampling techniques comprise of coming up and choosing people or groups that possess knowledge concerning or have experience with the topic under study (5). Through the use of emails, the researcher chose respondents who met certain qualifications and offered valuable information concerning consumer concerns on social media. Based on the participants’ selection criteria, a purposeful sample of (n=60) was selected to participate in the survey.
The research used thematic analysis (TA) in analyzing data. TA has enabled the research to unveil the profound concerns that prevail more across social media consumers. Through a systematic analysis specifically of the content that is common among consumers, the research was able to pinpoint reappearing subjects that show shared concerns, and frustrations. For example, factors including but not limited to privacy issues, and cyberbullying frequently arise in literature addressing the concept of consumer concerns within the context of social media. Nevertheless, TA offered a structured framework that greatly helped in organizing as well as interpreting qualitative information. Through conducting a thorough grouping of information or rather data into topics and sub-topics, the research was able to attain a fundamental insight into the diverse range of issues from the consumers. As argued by Thompson, TA promotes the rigor as well as reliability of the study outcomes, making sure that conclusions are based on empirical proof (6).
Additionally, TA offered significant support in facilitating comparisons as well as synthesis over distinct studies. Considering the idea that the use of social media keeps on growing, investigators always face various pieces of publications addressing the same subjects. TA gives these investigators to highlight the similarities and differences across datasets thus facilitating the enrichment of their comprehension concerning consumer concerns. Despite the above merits of TA in this study, this approach also significantly fails in various areas especially when applied to data analysis (7). For instance, the TA does not have strict directives for completing an analysis. This might easily culminate in variability, particularly in the manner in which this approach is used in different studies, thus rendering it difficult to draw a comparison in findings or replicate studies.
IV. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The consideration of ethics within studies is paramount since it ensures that the studies are completed by observing integrity, respect as well as fairness specifically on respondents involved. It's vital to uphold ethical consideration because morally right and also helps to maintain the credibility of the research. This research upheld the ethical standards before, during, and after the study in various ways. Firstly, the researcher ensured that the idea of informed consent was considered by significantly providing vivid information to respondents so that they could come up with independent choices about their involvement in the study. The researcher also ensured that there was room for withdrawal from the research by any respondent if they felt to do so. The research also ensured the concepts of confidentiality and privacy were considered during the interview process. Research has shown that it is vital to offer respect to the privacy of respondents to enhance or build confidence and trust (8). Enria et al. Emphasizes the need to maintain privacy during the study process from information gathering up to publication to lock out unauthorized personnel or disclosure of personal details (8). In this study, the researcher adopted the necessary measures to offer the needed protection or security for sensitive data or details gathered during the interview and the study at large.
Furthermore, the researcher also took the responsibility of reducing harm and at the same time raising the benefits for respondents. The researcher achieved this carefully by offering potential safety and eliminating threats associated with the research such as but not limited to physical harm. The researcher ensured that the relevant measures were executed to provide safety to vulnerable groups. In addition, the researcher ensured that there was respect for the respondent's independence as well as dignity. This was achieved by significantly treating respondents with respect and dignity. This entirely involved, honoring their choices concerning but not limited to their inclusion in the research.
Nonetheless, the researcher also ensured that fairness and equity were upheld during the study. The researcher observed the concept of diversity in recruiting participants and at the same time eliminating the prejudices grounded on aspects including but not limited to race or religion. Besides, the researcher took the necessary steps by considering the potential outcomes of the study for the most vulnerable respondents specifically people living with a disability. Lastly, the researcher guaranteed that ethical oversight, as well as responsibility, is observed throughout the research procedure. The researcher took the primary function of ensuring that the study adheres to the ethical standards designed by Institutional review boards.
V. RESULTS
The analysis focused on demographic examination by exploring aspects such as age, gender, education, job status, and social media platforms used. Based on gender, there 27 were female while 33 participants were men. The youngest participant was aged 21 years while the oldest was 57 years. The average age of the participants was 35.4 years, indicating that most were men. The minimum education level of the participant is a high school graduate and all participants were actively in employment or self-employed.
All the participants had registered an account with at least two social media platforms, although a majority (48), had multiple accounts. Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok were the most common social media platforms. However, most of the participants had registered an account with professional platforms like Linkedin, although most were not active participants on these platforms. Facebook emerged as the most popular for general networking while X was preferred for emerging news and trending online topics.
TA was adopted to explore the concerns of the users regarding privacy. Following the analytical approach proposed, there were five emerging themes on the most pressing privacy issues by users of social media networks; namely the scale and scope of data collection, potential misuse of user data, third-party app portability, behavioral tracking, and potential data breaches.
VI. ANALYSIS DISCUSSION
A. Discussion
To achieve the objective of the study, it was vital to provide substantial feedback on the two research questions that guided this study. The first question focused on understanding the primary concerns of social media about privacy. Social media networks have revolutionized and transformed communication, social networking, and bridging people's relationships. These mediums offer crucial benefits but also introduce noteworthy privacy concerns. The interviews revealed that the concerns delve around the process of data collection, use of information collected, security, control over private data, tracking behavioral patterns, and the association of third-party stakeholders. The interviews provided a comprehensive understanding by highlighting relevant concerns in detail, which will be explored further by applying the TA framework to ensure that each factor is understood well.
Scope and scale of Data Collection
The interviewees showed concerns about the scale and scope of data collection by social media networks. It emerged as one of the most pressing issues among social media users because of the intricacy of remaining private. Social media platforms obtain an enormous volume of information, including aspects like name, age, and residence and intimate details such as internet activities, hobbies, and text messages. The respondents indicated that the platforms can collect Personal Identifiable Information (PII) because account holders it is one of the requirements at the point of registration [10]. Crucial information like personal email addresses, contact numbers, and date of birth. The participants showed concerns because they suspected fraudulent actors could access the data and use it for malicious purposes.
The participants also showed concern for the ability of social media platforms to study behavioral patterns using the data collected. Participants argued that privacy is a crucial aspect of human dignity and should be guaranteed by social media platforms [11]. One participant noted that Facebook can track their interment activities, sites visited visit, content, preferences, and communication patterns. Therefore, it demonstrates that the use of collected data by social media is an issue that could pose privacy risks.
Misuse of Personal Data
The participants showed concerns about the use of information collected and stored in social media databases. Social media platforms can leverage the data collected to understand how to improve the experiences of users and other aspects that improve the quality. Based on the participants' responses, targeted advertising can be a vulnerability to users. Social media platforms can use the data to facilitate Ad Personalization [11]. The algorithms can be trained to analyze user data to enable personalized advertisements, which is an invasive antic. The platforms can be involved in the monetization of user data by selling the analyzed ta to third-party organizations.
The participants of the survey observed that social media platforms used the data beyond advertising purposes. The algorithms can be refined to understand social media consumption patterns to influence their purchase decisions. This is a form of manipulation by feeding users targeted information to influence their attitudes, behaviors, and choices [12]. Third-party organizations can leverage modern advances in AI and analytics to study the behavior of social media users and enable the system to make product recommendations and even product development.
Data Breaches
Data security emerged as a leading theme in during the interviews as recent news of frequent cyberattacks and monumental data breaches led to the exposure of personal information. Most participants noted that the high-profile incidents of data breaches by social media platforms like the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal led to the manipulation of voters' decisions in the US election and the Brexit vote. Millions of personal information data were mined without the users' consent. The exposure of the data led to adverse consequences including identity theft, financial fraud, and online vulnerabilities.
Similarly, users noted that user accounts frequently face security vulnerabilities. The accounts have weak password protocols. Some participants indicated that they have been victims of social media account hacks due to the weak security protocols. However, the participants were encouraged to indicate the password, implying that they used a common password including date of birth, name, and city [10]. Some users understood the two-factor authentication, which is crucial in minimizing hacking. The two-factor authentication protocols lead to problems by adding layers. Making it unpopular among most social media users.
Poor account security reduces the ability of users to control their personal information. However, most social media platforms recognize that there is a need to enhance the security of users' accounts. The security setting is complex and confusing to many ordinary social media users. A significant proportion of participants did not understand the process of setting the advanced security protocols [13]. Most users rely on the default security setting, which encourages sharing of personal information and social media activities. The users are expected to maneuver the complex process to ensure the security of their data. Shifting such an obligation to users with limited knowledge about the technicality of social media account security raises ethical and moral concerns.
Behavioral Tracking
Most users noted that social media platforms can perform behavioral tracking by analyzing social media activities, patterns, and content. Cookies Technologies provide the platforms with a tool to perform continuous tracking across different websites, retaining in-depth profiles of user's behavior [13]. The platforms can conduct behavioral tracking with informed consent: The Cambridge-Analytica incident reveals the vulnerability of social media platforms on individuals and society. The profiles created were used not only for marketing and advertising purposes but also to influence political campaigns.
Participants of the study indicated that the ability of social media platforms to collect data limitlessly can expose users to surveillance vulnerabilities. Collecting private and intimate data, such as personal health information and PII can enable third-party actors to perform surveillance since each aspect of social media interaction is documented. The Power held by social media companies leads to the loss of anonymity over personal information to some extent. The structure of social media communication makes it impossible to maintain anonymity because the data is augmented into a singular platform.
Third-Party Apps Data Portability
Portability and the right to delete information is also a concern among users. This stems from the concept of the "right to be forgotten." Users may opt for some content from their social media platforms. Users have limited control over the spread and distribution of the content they post. Deleting the content does not limit other account owners to post similar information [14]. This is a significant concern highlighted by the participants of the survey. deleting their data or controlling its spread once shared.
The growth of social media has coincided with an era of integration of online systems and solutions. Most social media platforms allow third-party apps and integrations. Third-party applications operate based on their practices, policies, and unique terms and conditions for service. There are more privacy issues when social media networks integrate third-party apps and services. Integration of third-party Apps into the social media application can facilitate the collection of data and potential for misuse [12]. There is a lack of clarity over the party responsible for the security of data. Besides, the more the data is available to employees of both organizations, it can be at risk of breaches.
The second question focused on examining the mediating factors contributing to the social media user’s privacy concerns. Based on the TA, the merging factors included inadequate regulatory protection, ineffective social media platform privacy policies, and ignorance of users on appropriate security settings.
Accessibility and Permission
Accessing the data held may require permission from the user or the social media platform. Some apps may be granted broad permissions that allow them unlimited access to the information. Third-party apps often request access to a wide range of user data, which may not be necessary for their functionality. There is a lack of appropriate oversight over data and usage by third-party organizations and apps. The platforms do not provide sufficient oversight and guidelines on how the third parties use and protect the data they access.
Therefore, there is potential for misuse and manipulation of user data by social media platforms and third parties who access the data. Social media platforms may have strict privacy but third-party organizations may have inconsistent privacy concerns. The Cambridge Analytica scandal is an illustration of such an incident, where Facebook data was accessed with crucial privacy breaches. Social media platforms pose a significant threat because they can lead to trust issues among users. Some of the participants noted that they had deleted their accounts because of fear of privacy breaches [14]. The constant privacy issues influence the attitudes and behaviors on social media and their level of trust in these platforms. Hence, the participants have adopted self-censorship due to the awareness of potential online tracking and data collection. This involves avoiding sharing some details or expressing views freely.
The risk of privacy breaches can minimize the levels of social engagement to conceal one's true personality and character. Privacy concerns can lead to reduced engagement, with users less likely to participate in activities that require personal information sharing. Users have also shown concerns for better data and information security practices by social media platforms. The participants of the survey indicated that transparency over the use of the data collected is necessary to protect their confidentiality [12][13]. The growth in awareness and understanding of the right to privacy has been a significant factor that has influenced the demand for better information security protocols.
Inadequate Regulatory and Policy Concerns
Privacy is a right recognized by the laws of different countries including the United States. There are specific legislations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU block or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), enacted to protect the privacy and confidentiality of users' data. However, it does not provide sufficient protection to users since there are several hurdles in its implementation. The lack of effectiveness and compliance with the law has contributed to the loopholes that are constantly utilized by the platforms to collect personal data [12]. The legislations impose legal and criminal liabilities on social media platforms, which can be a crucial method of deterring platforms from engaging in unauthorized sharing of users' data.
Ineffective Social Media Site Policies
Social media platforms have policies that guide the usage of data collected from account holders. Most of these terms are often complex and it is difficult for the users to comprehend. Users sometimes agree to conditions without fully understanding service and privacy rules since they are lengthy and complex [11]. The participants contented that they had never read through all the policies, terms, and conditions of using the site. These challenges lead to the acceptance of policies that allow the collection and usage of data.
Besides, social media platforms are constantly enhancing policy changes that could affect the security of users' data. Platforms regularly change their terms of service, sometimes making major adjustments to privacy provisions that users might not always see or comprehend [13]. The ignorance of users creates vulnerabilities in users and places social media platforms in a superior position. This enables the platforms to include policies that are pro-data collection.
B. Conclusion
Social media companies need to improve privacy controls, strengthen security, simplify privacy settings, and follow strict regulations to strike a balance between user interaction and privacy. Platforms can provide a safer and more reliable environment and encourage users to interact without jeopardizing their personal information by fully addressing these main concerns. This fine balance, where the advantages of connection and sharing are evaluated against the fundamental right to privacy, will determine the future of social media.
Dealing with a wide range of intricate issues is necessary when navigating the social media privacy tightrope. It makes sense that users are concerned about the scope of data gathering, the uses to which it is put, the security of their data, and their control over it. These issues become even more complicated when third-party apps are involved and behavioral tracking is used. These privacy concerns provide serious legal and policy hurdles in addition to affecting user behavior and confidence.
C. Future Research
Social media platforms need to reconsider the concept of user privacy to protect the confidentiality of user data. It is necessary to communicate clearly about the purpose for which the data collected is to be used. The current system is opaque and the users have limited knowledge about the terms and conditions of service. Organizations must protect the integrity of user data. Failure to comply with the regulatory requirement can lead to substantial financial and reputational damage to a social media platform. Facebook has been heavily fined for data breaches and scandals.
Policymakers and legislator should also understand the risk that social media platforms expose to their users and introduce stricter regulations and guidelines on how these platforms can use data collected. Currently, social media platforms are powerful and can influence users to accept terms that would allow the collection of personal information. The legislation should focus on introducing guidelines that compel the platforms to be transparent and use terms that are easily understandable to all users. The study focused on users that are educated but they were also not familiar with the terms on the use of personal data by the platforms. The government can provide better protection by introducing liabilities on platforms that mislead users to accept opaque terms and conditions with a loophole that will allow the collection of PII. Government involvement will be necessary as information and communication technologies continue to transform how organizations collect, analyze, and utilize online users and activities.






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Appendix

Figure1: The conceptual model of extended privacy calculus

(... I think I need to finish our Visit with Wu for now, I’m having a harder and harder time writing it. Have no excuse today. It just didn’t come out. So back to our previously scheduled Madness. And I'm extra stupid today, I made a mistake in the title so I had to delete and repost. Sorry.)
~First~
RAK and Roll!/Shadows of Centris
“And boom goes the dynamite.” Amadi notes as the cultist guards suddenly realize that they’d been firing on non-existent police officers while the real ones were rushing in from the side. It was those kinds of life altering revelations he just adored to see.
“Hmm, well I guess I need to put this away then.” Reggie notes calmly as he starts breaking down the mortar he’d set up ‘just in case’. After getting his training for the thing the man had been itching to use it, but hadn’t had any opportunity for some indirect fun.
“Probably for the best.” Koa remarks.
“I know. Still...” Reggie admits as he collapses the components down and tucks them away into an expanded pocket. Amadi smirks at the sight. Yes, he’s technically the adept of the three, but do you really need that when the other guys are pocket artillery and a walking weapons platform?
“Ah well, who wants to eat? Lunch rush is finished and it’s cheaper to hand out the overstock than use stasis.” Amadi asks.
“Sure, the area is mostly stable anyways so...” Koa states before suddenly turning and his rifle is held out at the figure he can’t fully see. “Identify yourself.”
“The sun is shining.” The Cloaken woman states.
“But the ice is slippery.” Amadi glibly replies and the invisible hand of the woman has a data-chit balanced upon it. “Thank you.”
“You’d think that would calm down a little with all the cults actively fighting and moving hard.” Koa notes.
“Not really, more excitement means more notes are getting passed around. So it should break about even, sure, most of the everyday silliness is being set aside but the sheer urgency means other things are running out and...” Reggie tries to explain his thought process with a few gestures before a Metak blurs past him and he now has a pair of data-chits in his hand. He holds them up between his fingers. “As demonstrated.”
They have a slight chuckle as Amadi lets his illusions finally fade to allow the police to fully pounce on the kill crazy women who had decided to come out guns blazing when their little country club was pinged. “By the way do you guys know exactly who this gaggle of idiots are?”
“I think they’re called the... the... Starts with an M.” Reggie says snapping his fingers as he tries to recall things.
“Mamaluk?” Koa throws out.
“No, no. It was M Y? Myats? Mycorin? My something.” Reggie asks. “Oh this is bugging me.”
“I thought it was M I.”
“Milaluk! The Milaluk!” He says with a smile before pausing. “I don’t know what it means.”
“Neither do I, but does it matter? The Milaluk were being moronic so we meddled and matched em. Now let’s mosey my men!” Amadi says with a smile.
“Hmm... he’s getting better at those. It didn’t even sound like that much of a stretch.” Koa notes as he stores his massive rifle and all three men get moving.
It doesn’t take long for them to make note of police cruisers soaring overhead and heading to a very different place from the one they just assisted in, but since their communicators are silent they’re not being tagged in to help. And often unwanted help can be worse than none, so they don’t follow.
“So do you think that...” Koa begins before all three of their communicators go off simultaneously. “Oh boy, here we go.”
“Stand by for communications with Observer Wu.” Amadi reads out loud. “Why would he want to talk with us? We’re three guys who wander around and bumble about, what’s so interesting?”
“You mean besides the fact that we’re basically scouts and patrol officers on an alien world that routinely go to many different spires with massively different laws, populations environmental expectations and...” Reggie begins to list off.
“I was being sarcastic.” Amadi says.
“Oh. Well no reason then, probably random chance.” Reggie amends and Amadi rolls his eyes a touch.
“He’s an Observer. He wouldn’t be much good at his job if he didn’t at least glance at everyone. He likely regards the list of Humans outside of Cruel Space as a check list to personally interview, one after the other. Right now he’s just getting his bearings and balance I’ll wager.” Koa considers out loud.
“To say nothing of the idea of him following people with a pair of binoculars and just watching them.” Amadi says conjuring the image of binoculars that he holds in front of his eyes. The wide end of them seemingly a gigantic pair of blinking eyes that Reggie swipes through to dispel the image.
“His title is Observer, not Stalker.” Reggie says.
“The difference between the two is governmental approval and little else.” Amadi says and Reggie just concedes the point.
It takes a few more minutes for them to get to the car they used to get to this spire and a few after that to fly to the one where Amadi’s girls were. The first they ran into was actually Abigail, the cousin of the August Speaker of The Council was clearly excited to see him if the fact she swooped down into his arms and locked up his lips with her own.
After she showed no signs of wanting to stop both other men walked around them and into the diner. There are some enthusiastic greetings from the girls inside and the quick pointing outside has the Rabbis working the till and the one waiting the tables rush out to get some sugar from their man.
“There’s a reason we put the more energetic ones on the outside.” One of the cooks notes. The small warren of Rabbis liked to work things in a total of six shifts and took two each day. That way there was always a full staff and they got all the rest they needed to keep the diner open endlessly and efficiently.
“No kidding. So, how much overstock is there today?”
“Not as much as normal. A lot of girls are struggling to find time to cook for themselves for some reason.”
“Funny that.”
“Yes, it’s almost like everyone’s really busy for some strange reason. I wonder what could cause such a thing.” Koa asks.
“Yes, I wonder...”
“Classified.” Reggie states.
“Right, because a massive scan of the entire planet can be classified. Everyone knows something scared someone higher up. But what was it?”
“Classified.” Reggie taunts.
“How are your girls holding up.”
“Shireen and Misty are on ‘Official Business’ on The Dauntless to get them both the hell out of dodge. They’re nervous so a bit of work as a new set of eyes on our holodeck coding and a fashion consultant for our potential future uniforms gives them both a distraction in a safe place.”
“It’s adorable that you pulled strings to get them both into safety.” The cook notes.
“You had a similar offer. I saw Amadi make it.” Koa remarks.
“No one’s going to bother with us. We’re not important enough for the crazy people to notice.”
“Crazy people are just that, crazy.” Reggie remarks.
“They are, now a quick heads up, there’s going to be...” Koa begins to say before their communicators start going off. “Crap. New ship is coming and on it is an Observer who wants to talk to us apparently. Mind if we take a corner booth?”
“Go ahead, the rush is over and most people are ordering out.”
Amadi has to rush in to sit next to them as they set up the communicators.
“Have I caught you at a bad time?”
“Somewhat sir. We’re often on patrol around Centris and we received are warning a fair way away from The Dauntless, we are however in a trusted and safe location.”
“Very good, I need to know more about the world I’m heading to. What is the on the ground perspective of Centris?”
“Could you be more specific about what you’re looking for? There are all sorts of different things to consider, is it security? Culture? Language? Fashion? Local laws? Something else?”
“I’m looking for how it compares to an Earth city or town.”
“Well, they’re very much a city with towering buildings that can induce a sensation of being among giants. There are few places without large crowds and innumerable different building styles, but there’s always reliable walkways and general driving and soaring areas as well. So jaywalking isn’t as much as an issue as it is in most cities, you won’t interrupt traffic unless they’re coming in for a landing. The roads are more... landing strips and parking areas with walkways next to them.” Reggie explains.
“I see.”
“There are also areas where they seem to randomly have roundabouts or sudden turns to avoid specific areas, but once you learn more about them you realize they’re basically walkways for those that can naturally fly or jump so powerfully that the line between a jump and flight is more academic.” Reggie continues.
“Hmm, and culture?” Observer Wu asks.
“Well culture shifts around a lot depending on the area your in. The galaxy at large has one where men are often protected to the point of coddling, or possibly suffocating them... If you’re looking for a man in public, look for an oddly dense bit of crowd that seems to be defensive. Because their families are protective.” Koa explains this time.
“Or look to those who are followed by a crowd because they’re lashing out as they try to find some kind of purpose. It’s not universal, more than half of the men of the galaxy easily find enough in life to be content. But those that don’t... well... if it’s not petty it’s dramatic. The Undaunted sees a lot of them, they have preferential recruitment.”
“Why?”
“Because less than half of one percent of a galactic population is a recruiting pool so massive that the name tags of their uniform could strip mine entire continents with ease.” Koa answers and Observer Wu nods.
“Oh please, get them all together after a few years of recruitment and it would have a gravitational pull strong enough to replace the moon around Earth.” Reggie remarks. “I’m not kidding by the way, I did the math on my spare time. Recruitment is going up and up an up and there are enough to recruit that quintillions are on the menu.”
“Quintillions...”
“Centris is one of the more population dense worlds in the galaxy. But not the most, and there is not an insignificant number of worlds like this. To say nothing of less overdeveloped ones which are in much higher numbers and with each level they go down in development the more worlds there are.” Reggie says.
“Quintillions, and that’s if one is only considering one half of one percent...” Observer Wu remarks as he looks off. “Our population is in the billions, a thousand more for each person gives us trillions, doing it again is quadrillions and then we have to do it again to get quintillions.”
“Kind of hard to consider, isn’t it?” Reggie asks.
“It is.” Observer Wu notes. “Everything we do that doesn’t fizzle and die will rapidly grow beyond anything humanity has ever accomplished.”
“Yes. In some ways it already has. It took people like Genghis Khan decades to shape the world. It takes some of our teams weeks if not days or even hours to affect even more people over a wider area.” Reggie says.
“Oh calm down, there’s no need to get so dramatic.” Amadi remarks as he reclines a little more. He waves his hand and the image of a spire with all it’s tiers appears. “Of course we can do more with higher numbers, literal magic and immensely powerful technology. Grade school math is harder to figure out than that. A world with giant abstract Christmas Trees for city structures with all the shiny bits and lights and decorations? Well duh it’s different!”
Amadi’s little sculpture of a spire is now shining with lights, the glass windows of sky scrapers and the lights and images of the traffic around them until the literally shining manors at the very top of spires shine like a star on top of a Christmas Tree. “It’s a whole world of this silliness. With great big fake continents flying above the planet like a shining ring. All full of girls so desperate for a man that all he has to do to get more tail than he’s ever even imagined is to say yes. Calm down, things are weird but fun.”
“Don’t forget that the modern hobby is conspiracy, even if it’s a dark garden club about the best way to grow tomatoes.” Koa remarks as he pulls out the data chits and chips he had been given. Reggie then stacks them up and it stands next to the image of the spire and actually rises above it. “Granted, ninety nine times out of a hundred they’re completely harmless like that.”
“But there are so many that they tower above the spires themselves.” Observer Wu states.
“Both on this table and in real life. Throw a rock in a crowd and hit three people, you’ll have also hit seven cultists or conspirators.” Amadi says with a grin. “Makes it fun when you start to poke at them. You get all kinds of hilarious reactions.”
“I can imagine.”
“I doubt it, this is the kind of crazy that needs to be seen first hand.” Amadi says before nodding as he sees another ‘courier’ run in, check to see what’s going on. Clearly consider them as their drop off target and then dismiss it before leaving. “It’s a lot of fun though.”
~First~ Last

“So, how much?”
I didn’t know Charles well, but well enough to guess that the grizzled hog farmer was a talented salesman. ‘No lowballs,’ I imagined him drawling, waggling his finger, and speaking over his exceptionally jutting chin.
“Three-hundred fifty for the land, the pen, and the house,” the man said. He spat, hard, and the tobacco-black phlegm stuck to the side of the fence post and slowly ran down the side in three rivulets.
“Then another twenty grand for the hogs. Two-hundred thirty-three of ‘em, not a large passel. Price of swine is goin’ up, I’ll tell you, so t’s the best I can give you for what you’s gettin’.”
I had expected to hand him even more money. Charles and his wife had a small operation, but big enough to matter, with a beautiful two-story farmhouse to accompany it nicely. I wasn’t getting a better deal anywhere else. At least not anywhere I wanted to be. I’d longed to live as a farmer in Tennessee ever since my family’s entire property burned to the ground back in the fall of ‘68. It was dry, and we’d just fertilized after the harvest.
Not a living thing was left untouched by the flames, not even my father, who ran back to get the horses after the barn shot up with a pillar of fire. We never found his body. Or maybe we did, but the charred dust of the barn, the corn, and the animals we called our lives and the blackened remains of the man that was my world were all reduced to ashes in the end. And when the wind came, they all blew away just the same, forever to leave me, my two sisters, and my mother behind.
I held out my hand to Charles and we shook on it.
It wasn’t the life I envisioned for myself. Not when I got my engineering degree from Georgia Tech. Not when I began work at a small engineering firm. Not even when I saw the hog farm for sale less than an hour from my house did I realize that was the world I lost that I needed back. My wife didn’t care; in fact, it brought her work commute down to forty minutes from an hour ten.
After we moved there and I began consulting part-time to make allowance for the time I needed to spend raising the hogs, caring for the land, and tending to my now-pregnant wife, the fulfillment I sought seemed that much closer. But only that. Closer, yet still out of the reach of my yearning clutches. It wasn’t until two years after I bought the farm, almost to the day, that the chips seemed to fall on my side with her.
“Micah?”
Jackie was calling from the cubicle over. Then I heard footsteps coming towards my own office space.
“Hey, yeah, did you finish the drainage plans for the floodplain you were working on? If so, I’d happily review and sign off on them.”
Jackie had come here a couple of years after I did. She was an intern at first, and everybody loved her cheery smile and sharp intellect, so she was hired on after she finished her degree. The youngest of our crew, she lived by herself in an apartment, but her lack of experience didn’t keep her from coolly sharing her opinion on matters of work when she knew she was right. And she was always right.
Jackie had always taken a liking to me in a way she didn’t seem to show toward the others. I never became sure of why she did, but I had my suspicions. Trauma and mystique go hand in hand. Maybe she saw me as broken in the same way she saw herself. After all, it didn’t take a psychologist to tell Jackie had her own skeletons in her closet. She just had that aura, the one that neglected children and broken adults share with each other. Nobody knew what life she walked out of and nobody cared. She did her job, and that was all the company cared for. But not me.
I turned away from my computer screen towards the opening of my cubicle and she was there, half silhouetted by the light behind her, staring me in the eye. Jackie trailed a finger down the edge of the cubicle wall, her mouth open barely enough for me to see her tongue flit deftly over her perfectly-aligned incisors. Ignoring my question, she continued.
“Your wife, I take it?”
She gestured with an outstretched palm toward the wedding photo I had framed on my desk.
“Yeah. Hard to believe we’ll be a family of three soon. Ha!”
I chuckled, nervously. Slightly excitedly, too. I can’t tell if Jackie knew that the latter was for what I knew was coming rather than what I had already said, but I don’t think she would have cared one way or the other.
“Say, she must be lonely waiting for you at home? I know that feeling. Being lonely.”
She took a step towards me and I glanced down at my feet. Looking back, it felt like an eternity, that looking down, that knowing what was happening and making a decision. It was a choice. And while it felt like it stretched for minutes, hours, I knew it was but a moment. Yet it only took a moment to make my descent into sin.
“I know it too. Well. Too well. She’s on a business trip - a long one. Say, I raise hogs. Prize swine, there’s good money in them. What’d you say about coming to see my farm sometime?”
It had been two hours since Jackie had left the farmhouse and was almost one-thirty in the morning, yet I wasn’t tired. According to my doctor, I have insomnia. According to my mother, I have “bad juju.” According to myself, well, I guess I just don’t feel like sleep is worth the trouble sometimes. That night, though, I didn’t sleep at all until the sun shone through my window in the early hours of the morning.
Living among swine never gave me a lot of grief before then. Some people hated the stench - my wife among them - but the manure never bothered me, and, come to find out, it didn’t bother Jackie, either. I would have asked if she had been on a farm as a child, but her demeanor and attitude told me that she wasn’t interested in the slightest in my life and that I shouldn’t be in hers, either. I suppose I wasn’t - not in the one outside of our affair, at least.
But that night, when the stars were out and shining like eyes in a limitless black sea, and when the wind rustled through the trees, a gigantic army moving across the land like a plague towards destinations unseen, I started to feel bothered in a way I never had before.
I had been sitting on the back porch in view of the pig pens after having just finished the chores. I knew I wasn’t drunk, I was only on my second beer, but sitting outside, half-empty bottle in hand, I suddenly wished I could be completely wasted. I’d never been one to believe in those types of things that you can’t touch with your hand or see with your eyes. The hair stood up on my arms and the taste of metal lapped my tongue as if a storm was coming. No, I didn’t believe in the things you couldn’t really feel, but I could sure as hell feel something now.
Unsettled, I was turning around to go get another beer before something caught my eye in the pig pen that made me glance over.
All of the pigs visible from this side of the house could be seen, through the metal fencing, staring in my direction. The ones who were blocked by the lumpy bodies of the other swine stood on the hind ends of the others to see. With their combined mass, the pigs strained the metal of the pen stalls until each stall’s fencing bulged out in the middle where the weight was distributed.
Most unique of all was the unanimous behavior of the swine. Not one fell out of sync. Each one, eyes glowing like headlights in the dark, bodies silhouetted against the light of the moon, was without noise or disturbance. Once all of the pigs were in position, they all stayed ominously still.
As I watched, one by one, hundreds of eyes closed, and a wave of darkness spread over the pen as no more eyes were open to reflect the light. I swore for a moment that the stars did too and that the world around me plunged into complete darkness, but I cannot be for certain, because at that same moment, I involuntarily blinked.
I say involuntarily because, frozen in place, the scene was too strange for me to willingly turn away from. I do not know if the same force that caused the swine to flicker their eyes caused me to do the same, perhaps a gust of wind - or of something less tangible - but upon opening them, the pigs had returned to their discord, with several having already gone to sleep. Deeply disturbed, I went inside the house and drank until the morning came and I finally found sleep.
My wife returned from her trip soon enough and without much ado upon her arrival. For the next month or so, the two of us were together, and our lives were lived without significant discord. None that she knew about, anyway. I never told her about Jackie and I certainly didn’t mention the times I saw my coworker after my wife returned, either. And while I did float an innocent question to her asking if she had noticed any of the hogs’ strange behavior, I didn’t enlighten her as to the motivation for my interrogative manner. She never appreciated being in the company of swine as it was, and turning her disdain into disgust wasn’t on my agenda.
Almost as abruptly as she had returned, my wife left, again, to be gone for the next week and a half on another trip. Probably best for her, too, because the hottest days of the year hit western Tennessee when she wasn’t there to experience them. And no sooner had she gone than Jackie resumed her nightly visits to the farm. Each time, she showed up without much notice, if any at all, and left just as abruptly.
Funnily enough, I didn’t care much. I felt no more and no less empty after she left than when she was here. So after I spent my days with my eyes on my screen and my nose in my boss’s ass, I spent my nights staring up through the bottoms of bone-dry bottles, faintly wondering if the path I walked down could’ve been just a little warmer or just a little brighter if things were different.
In spite of my catering towards my boss’s every wish at the office, he didn’t return the good-will in kind.
“What do you mean you’re asking for a raise?”
I swallowed and continued.
“I mean that it’s been five years, Glenn. I simply asked that my pay might increase to match inflation.”
My boss folded his hands across his desk and sighed. Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he dabbed at a couple of beads of sweat running down from his brow. We were in the heat of summer, and the air hung thick and humid around us. The office had air conditioning, but the unit was old, and the fan whistling away in the corner didn’t do much good against the record-breaking heat pressing in around us.
“I’m sorry, Micah. It’s just that you’re consulting, now, and… I can’t afford you those kinds of benefits-”
“What do you mean benefits? I’ve been here long enough I’m owed at least that, Glenn! What the fuck do you think I’m still here for? Pot lucks?”
That was the first time I had lost my temper at my boss; at least, the first time since he ripped up one of my drafts for a project several years back. That had been a long day for both of us. Now, Glenn sat back and scowled ever so slightly, and only for a brief moment, an indication that his inhibitions keeping his attitude in check were wearing thin. Nonetheless, he put on a smile, and chuckled coldly.
“Micah, look- you always were my right hand man, but you’re here so little now. One could say you’re more like my right thumb man, now.”
That was a long day too. The heat didn’t help. Somehow some bugs got into the office. Somebody probably left a door open to quash the heat, fruitlessly.
No wonder the AC’s shot, I thought to myself.
By the time it was the hour for me to leave, there were moths flitting around the lights, flies eating the stale food in the cafe, gnats alighting on every exposed surface in the office- insects were everywhere. I figured that door must have been left open most of the day.
Gotta be pretty stupid bugs, if this is where they want to be.
The time came for me to leave and I did so without a fuss. As little as I could manage, anyway. I took time to complete some errands and returned home, only to realize the heat wasn’t much less oppressive there than it was at the office, even if there weren’t any insects. If anything, it felt oddly empty without them, even after Jackie showed up. The rest of that evening was a blur of empty bottles and used cigarette butts littering the porch.
At some point — two in the morning, three, it didn’t matter — I was pulled out of my drunken slumber and forced into sobriety by a noise I could no more determine the source of than what I had eaten for dinner a year ago from the day. I sat up with a jolt and listened, suddenly feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
The sound, if it could be called that, was discordant, unnatural, wrong — and yet, I couldn’t remember another thing about it. It wasn’t a sound heard through your ears, a vibration in your skin, nor even a sensation of one’s physical brain; it was a thought processed through one’s sleeping soul, something that certainly cannot be described with words without diminishing the weightiness placed; without negating, in full, the sense of abject horror at its state of being.
I had sat atop that precipice between reality and unreality; sleep, the abyss, where devils absently play amongst the nightmares of men. I told myself it was just that, a dream, but I know now that the place I was and the places I was soon to go were gateways between the waking world and the one beneath it. Before I had time to process what I had just felt, I heard another sound, this one very much real, and resembling a dying animal. Slowly, I made my way out of my crumpled bed and opened the blinds. I almost wished, upon doing so, that I was back on the precipice.
Thirteen of the hogs stood in a circle on the lawn; how they had gotten out, I don’t know. Each stood perfectly still, equidistant from the next, and faced a quivering shadow in the middle of them all. I could make out faint features: a scraggly beard, a bottle- whether the man was a hiker or a drunk, I couldn’t tell. Nonetheless, he had wound up on my property, and found himself caught in a circle of pigs.
I watched the man’s motions and noted with rising horror that as he walked in one direction, the circle of pigs shifted to keep him at the center of the ring, and all the while they drew nearer to him. The man was clearly intoxicated now; it was almost half a minute before he stumbled, fell, and no sooner squelched in the dirt than thirteen squeals rang through the night and the animals blotted out his body from sight with their unified mass.
The man let out one scream but could manage no more than one. The ring was a blur of motion. I saw little but I saw enough; one pig reared its glistening head and I watched part of a scalp fly from its gaping mouth, arcing dark liquid as it trailed across the yard. Another couple chunks of meat rolled away from the pile and reached a stop several feet away in the yard; once the pigs were through with their feast, they broke off from the previous site, now nothing but a red stain on the earth, and gobbled up the pieces that had got away.
It took me the next four hours to get the pigs back into their pen, but I managed it. And, none had to be shot in the process, though I surmised I should come with a gun readied. A cleanup wasn’t necessary either; it was a hog farm, so it’d be getting dirty again soon. I considered another individual might find the stain, but there was no proof it was human blood, and I had no intention of calling the police out there.
That morning, my boss was late to work. I suppose that’s to be expected, though, when one has had their tires slashed. He was livid, and I didn’t correct his supposition that his ex-wife had committed the act, though I’m sure he would have loved another reason to fire me. After all, I was nothing more than a right thumb man.
The day had gone quicker and cooler than the former, and the low droning of the rain made the day seem just a little less lonely. Of course, I was slated to see Jackie that night, and after lunch I had left work, gone off to purchase more drinks from the local liquor store. I remember having gotten enough to fill the passenger seat of my truck, and felt almost as if the pile of liquor was a singular being, watching me; the silently judgemental friend. I had a twinge of anxiety, and half wondered if I was going insane; at that, I laughed.
The air was cool when Jackie got there. My mother always used to call that the first breath of autumn, when the reaper opened his eyes and cooed softly to his crop before the inferno was snuffed out by the frigid winter. As a child, I didn’t pay much attention to her words, but as I grew older I felt the cold in my bones, and tonight I felt it in my soul, a faint whisper of death like the mark of the beast. I watched Jackie’s hair whip to the side, a black flag in the wind, as she approached the house. On the doorstep, we embraced, and I recall she said she needed to talk.
“You’re an awfully successful man, Micah. And I know you’ve got a lot of money. Maybe you’re not wealthy, no, but you’re richer than me, and there’s enough to go around. It’d be a damn shame if your poor wife found out about me. No, I haven’t said a thing yet, and I know you know that, for the poor thing couldn’t take the stress and might just die. But I could say a thing, and maybe even a little more. And a nasty thing it’d be, too. I’d just ask for $1,000 a month, but times are tough, so I’m inclined to say $2,000 would be enough to keep my mouth shut. And, of course, we could continue seeing each other. . . if you’d so please.”
Some say they see red when they’re angry enough, but I still remember how I saw even less; the next five minutes of my life were no clearer to me than several brief glimpses of reality, interspersed by periods of unreality before the next glimpse. A scream, and then another. The thought: she’s got a knife. A bone snapped: mine, hers, it didn’t matter. Blood; spattered on the carpet, on my shirt, and the drip-drip of a glistening red globe, smashed in through the side like a cracked egg. I remember the silence before the adrenaline eased and I felt pain, and I remember the pain before the squelch when I issued one last kick to the body, lying on the ground.
It had been time for me to feed the pigs. Jackie usually helped me with the feeding when she came over, always with a coy look, and often it was short lived and I needed to finish the job on my own after she left. I was betting that she could help me again. Hoisting her up onto my shoulder wasn’t difficult, though I supposed she was lighter than usual. I stooped to pick up the last few pieces that didn’t come with the rest of her and took the two of us to our yard.
The part of the brain we, as people, already understand cannot possibly encompass every sensation which we, as people, feel. Scientifically, maybe- but that feeling that makes dogs bark at empty rooms; that makes cats stare into walls before jumping away, frightened; that feeling exists in humans, too. Call it a sixth sense, or ESP, it’s there, and I felt it when carrying Jackie. The birds had stopped calling, the trees had ceased rustling, and a low, droning buzz resounded outside the pig pen. It rose in volume and pitch, and as I dropped Jackie’s lifeless corpse onto the ground, it blocked entirely the noise of the world around me.
I didn’t even hear the thump. Nor did I hear the pigs, for it wasn’t until I looked up from her body, panting heavily from the effort of what had transpired, that I saw that we stood on the fringe of a gathering of the pigs. I couldn’t see if any remained in the pen, but I could see that at least a hundred gathered here outside the pen, all staring at me with glassy eyes and salivating mouths. Some stood on the haunches of the others to see, and many were covered in blood, having been left uncleaned since the events of the previous night. Even through the foggy daze I was in, my fear registered on a guttural level and, in horror at the unreality of what I was seeing, I backpedaled, eventually tripping over a rut in the earth and falling to the ground.
The next moment, each of the pigs had turned to look at what was left of Jackie. For a couple of seconds, they stared at her, and I realized that the droning in my ears had stopped, replaced with nothing but an ominous silence. That silence was short lived, for in one, unanimous, ear-splitting squeal, the pigs raced each other to the body, and carnage ensued.
The hogs in front no sooner reached the body than were ripped apart by the pigs behind them. Huge flaps of fatty skin hung in ribbons from the napes of their necks and blood sprayed in all directions as necks, limbs, tails, and extremities were mangled with the reckless abandon of a pack of wild dogs. I suppose that’s what they were; even if I treated them like domesticated creatures, they were animals, and they were out of the control of any constraints that civilization wanted to place on them.
The mass of flesh moved rhythmically and dripping bodies were flung like oversized rag dolls from the fray to land wetly and lifelessly on the earth. Occasionally, I would hear a crunch as bones were rent and snapped under the pressure of the fray, and squeals as the broken limbs stabbed through the fleshy bodies of the animals atop them. Hooves, teeth, and bones carved the flesh of the other pigs, and while blood and feces sprayed freely, chunks of gore rolled out of the fray like meaty baseballs.
The pleasant temperature drop had undone itself, as the wind had stopped blowing, and the stench of the scene hung thick in the hot and heavy air of late summer. I vomited, over and over, bent over in the shit and the blood, eyes watering from the smell, and blood dripped from everywhere on my body. It ran off my body in rivulets and pooled around my feet. Some was mine, but more was Jackie’s, and more yet was the remains of the pigs. Blood dripped from my mouth onto the dirt, and I could no longer tell if I was looking up towards the cruel stars, down at the earth, or witnessing the slaughter before me, for my sight was veiled by a coating of blood, and my senses were clouded by the rush of adrenaline, though I could do nothing but sit in shock.
Breathe.
A chunk of meat smacked me in the shoulder.
Breathe.
An ear bounced off of my forehead.
Breathe.
An opened artery sprayed blood across my face in a line.
Breathe.
My eyes recognized four pigs on the fringe of the conflict abandoning their course for what was left of Jackie and I saw turn to me, each foaming at the mouth like a rabid animal. I saw two get ripped away by two other pigs, but the remaining couple charged. The one that reached me first clamped its maw around my leg not a moment before the next reached it, bit into its neck, and thrashed it back and forth.
I couldn’t hear my own screams above the countless squeals of the hog pile and the constant wet ripping that resounded through the dark sky. Eventually, the pig that had bit me gave out with a squeal, but not before the lower half of my leg was snapped with one, final pull, and the pig behind then buried its face in the body of the dying hog before being dragged back into the conflict by another. I failed to even hear my cries of pain over the sounds of the fray; I knew I screamed only from the burning in my throat.
Breathe.
A second later, I was thrown by the arm and crashed against the soggy earth several feet away from the conflict. For a moment, I wondered if I was alive, or if the world I was seeing around me was really Hell, and I was a damned soul being punished for my sins. At that, I blacked out, and entered a timeless, dreamless slumber that sent the world back into the buzzing mayhem I had felt before the carnage.
I opened my eyes some brief time later to find that the buzzing persisted in my ears while awake. Perspiring heavily from the heat, I found I was lying on my back on the ground, facing the burning remains of my house. The buzzing was really the rush of flames lapping at the sky and the crackling of embers as the roaring fire pulled them out of sight.
“Swine,”
The voice, which rang impossibly clear in the noise of the night, above the roar of the inferno and the sounds of the approaching sirens, had come from but a few feet behind the back of my moist head. Even after all that had transpired, the word made my hair stand on end, for it was spoken with a voice that could snuff out the stars if it were to say that they ought to stop shining.
I turned my head to face behind me, groaning sharply from the pain, to see a man atop a mountain of hundreds of mutilated hogs. The pile ran with a constant stream of blood and feces, which dripped slowly over the terraced stack of corpses to form a small lake underneath, the edge of which lapped my face with miniature waves of gore.
“. . . they never learn.”
Then, the man smiled, and I realized with horror that his legs resembled those of ruminants.
And atop his head rested two ebony horns, glistening in the moonlight.

Hell is a place that is associated with torture and death of the highest degrees, and rightfully so. Only the worst of the worst mortal souls fall below the layers of purgatory and the ascendant mountains of the heavens, and there they find punishment for their unbound cruelty; the world's judgement for their wretched sins. But there must be order amidst chaos, and punishers amidst the punished.. enter the demons.
Despite the mortal myths and claims, demons have held little malice towards any soul walking on the rights paths- even those stained by misdeeds worthy of purgatory have their respect and goodwill. Deals with demons never dragged souls to the pits of hell, rather the cities and fields.. as demons themselves. Bound by strict order and a fair society, demonhood is a surprisingly gentle existence. Some hold normal mortal jobs, some are specialized to the climates of hell, and others punish the damned as they rightfully should. Yet by the end of the day, just like you and I, they head home and sleep in their own beds. They have their own lives, and participate in a society, following the rules of their Queen.
A Queen who, until recently, has been alone for eons. A great and powerful soul above the 9 rings and the common class, she had been a good and kind ruler ever since the heavens gifted her the title. But all grow lonely eventually.. and eventually, word began to spread that another royal was in the grand palaces. A little daemon Prince; a rumor that was spurred along by the Queen's several season long disappearance from public eye. It wasn't until the first newspapers emerged featuring the swaddled Princeling on the headline that it was deemed true- and rumors turned into a furious storm of gossip. Lesser nobles, commoners, even the celestial authorities began to wonder who fathered the boy; and what he would become. Time would prove that he would be a deeply sweet and kind child, despite his birthplace, deeply beloved by his mother.. and spoiled beyond belief.
[Good evening, morning, or afternoon! I'm looking for a roleplay that I admit is focused almost solely on sweetness and warmth. I quite like contrasting themes, and the thought of a little princeling being brought up as a good child in the midst of hell is.. tempting. I adore the image of a terrifying daemon queen and her tiny, sweet son, and that was really the main inspiration.
To put things simply, I'm looking for a slice of life roleplay focusing on both mother and son being sweet and kind. A little drama here and there, yes, and some intrigue, but nothing too much. There could be some deeper drama stirring beneath the surface, too.. demons still have criminals, after all, political unrest can still happen; and no one else but the Queen knows who sired her heir.. so there's plenty of potential here.
I'm a third person writer who tends to put out 2-4 paragraphs a response, and am looking for folks at about the same literacy level! Those with creative worldbuilding and an excitement for expanding on themes would be greatly appreciated.. as would anyone, frankly. I'd love to see this roleplay happen. I hope you all have a lovely day or night!)

Hell is a place that is associated with torture and death of the highest degrees, and rightfully so. Only the worst of the worst mortal souls fall below the layers of purgatory and the ascendant mountains of the heavens, and there they find punishment for their unbound cruelty; the world's judgement for their wretched sins. But there must be order amidst chaos, and punishers amidst the punished.. enter the demons.
Despite the mortal myths and claims, demons have held little malice towards any soul walking on the rights paths- even those stained by misdeeds worthy of purgatory have their respect and goodwill. Deals with demons never dragged souls to the pits of hell, rather the cities and fields.. as demons themselves. Bound by strict order and a fair society, demonhood is a surprisingly gentle existence. Some hold normal mortal jobs, some are specialized to the climates of hell, and others punish the damned as they rightfully should. Yet by the end of the day, just like you and I, they head home and sleep in their own beds. They have their own lives, and participate in a society, following the rules of their Queen.
A Queen who, until recently, has been alone for eons. A great and powerful soul above the 9 rings and the common class, she had been a good and kind ruler ever since the heavens gifted her the title. But all grow lonely eventually.. and eventually, word began to spread that another royal was in the grand palaces. A little daemon Prince; a rumor that was spurred along by the Queen's several season long disappearance from public eye. It wasn't until the first newspapers emerged featuring the swaddled Princeling on the headline that it was deemed true- and rumors turned into a furious storm of gossip. Lesser nobles, commoners, even the celestial authorities began to wonder who fathered the boy; and what he would become. Time would prove that he would be a deeply sweet and kind child, despite his birthplace, deeply beloved by his mother.. and spoiled beyond belief.
[Good evening, morning, or afternoon! I'm looking for a roleplay that I admit is focused almost solely on sweetness and warmth. I quite like contrasting themes, and the thought of a little princeling being brought up as a good child in the midst of hell is.. tempting. I adore the image of a terrifying daemon queen and her tiny, sweet son, and that was really the main inspiration.
To put things simply, I'm looking for a slice of life roleplay focusing on both mother and son being sweet and kind. A little drama here and there, yes, and some intrigue, but nothing too much. There could be some deeper drama stirring beneath the surface, too.. demons still have criminals, after all, political unrest can still happen; and no one else but the Queen knows who sired her heir.. so there's plenty of potential here.
I'm a third person writer who tends to put out 2-4 paragraphs a response, and am looking for folks at about the same literacy level! Those with creative worldbuilding and an excitement for expanding on themes would be greatly appreciated.. as would anyone, frankly. I'd love to see this roleplay happen. I hope you all have a lovely day or night!)

Hell is a place that is associated with torture and death of the highest degrees, and rightfully so. Only the worst of the worst mortal souls fall below the layers of purgatory and the ascendant mountains of the heavens, and there they find punishment for their unbound cruelty; the world's judgement for their wretched sins. But there must be order amidst chaos, and punishers amidst the punished.. enter the demons.
Despite the mortal myths and claims, demons have held little malice towards any soul walking on the rights paths- even those stained by misdeeds worthy of purgatory have their respect and goodwill. Deals with demons never dragged souls to the pits of hell, rather the cities and fields.. as demons themselves. Bound by strict order and a fair society, demonhood is a surprisingly gentle existence. Some hold normal mortal jobs, some are specialized to the climates of hell, and others punish the damned as they rightfully should. Yet by the end of the day, just like you and I, they head home and sleep in their own beds. They have their own lives, and participate in a society, following the rules of their Queen.
A Queen who, until recently, has been alone for eons. A great and powerful soul above the 9 rings and the common class, she had been a good and kind ruler ever since the heavens gifted her the title. But all grow lonely eventually.. and eventually, word began to spread that another royal was in the grand palaces. A little daemon Prince; a rumor that was spurred along by the Queen's several season long disappearance from public eye. It wasn't until the first newspapers emerged featuring the swaddled Princeling on the headline that it was deemed true- and rumors turned into a furious storm of gossip. Lesser nobles, commoners, even the celestial authorities began to wonder who fathered the boy; and what he would become. Time would prove that he would be a deeply sweet and kind child, despite his birthplace, deeply beloved by his mother.. and spoiled beyond belief.
[Good evening, morning, or afternoon! I'm looking for a roleplay that I admit is focused almost solely on sweetness and warmth. I quite like contrasting themes, and the thought of a little princeling being brought up as a good child in the midst of hell is.. tempting. I adore the image of a terrifying daemon queen and her tiny, sweet son, and that was really the main inspiration.
To put things simply, I'm looking for a slice of life roleplay focusing on both mother and son being sweet and kind. A little drama here and there, yes, and some intrigue, but nothing too much. There could be some deeper drama stirring beneath the surface, too.. demons still have criminals, after all, political unrest can still happen; and no one else but the Queen knows who sired her heir.. so there's plenty of potential here.
I'm a third person writer who tends to put out 2-4 paragraphs a response, and am looking for folks at about the same literacy level! Those with creative worldbuilding and an excitement for expanding on themes would be greatly appreciated.. as would anyone, frankly. I'd love to see this roleplay happen. I hope you all have a lovely day or night!)

Hello, I am open to cisgender and/or transgender females in order to have a lifelong relationship together. I am not sure about wanting to stay in my country, so eventually relocating is something I'd be willing to do if you think it's realistic and that could work for us (so it's probably better if you're from the USA, or my country).
If you care about this, I don't really mind where you stand on the MBTI, I myself have scored as an INTP, INTJ and ISTJ, so if you are an introvert as well, that could be great. Need to add that I currently do not have a job, however I am trying my best in order to do things/courses and furthering my education/résumé.
What I'm searching in someone is:

• Ideally vegan, plant-based, or in a serious path to become one (if you absolutely think that you cannot become one after having tried, for health/equally important reasons, I'll understand).
• Drug/smoking/drinking/disease free (as I am) and keeps a reasonably healthy lifestyle at the very least.
• Monogamous and loyal, who wants a lifelong relationship, and believes that is feasible for us to finally be together at some point.
• Relatively close to my age (it's flexible, but +/- 4 years from my own seems reasonable).
• Childfree (doesn't have nor want kids).
• Not a ghoster.

Now these are the things that would describe me: I am very shy and introverted, and have never had a romantic relationship; I greatly value loyalty, love and understanding in someone, so if you give me that, you'll also receive it.
I'm generally very reluctant to take and post images of me publicly, but here I can describe a couple of physical traits, because I know it can be a deal breaker to some: I'm not very attractive, mostly because of my hairline and the fact that I wear glasses (I think I'm slightly better looking without them, but I'd rather not wear contact lenses for now), and I'm around 5'3''. That's the main thing, other than that I look average, but if I shave, I kind of look a bit stereotypically "nerdy".
As you've guessed by now, I'm plant-based, so essentially I follow a vegan diet and do not intend to change that. I am slightly left-leaning and don't tend to like extremes when it comes to politics; I am atheist/agnostic.
My hobbies are typically indoor, which includes things like: relaxing with music, doing digital art (sometimes), watching movies/shows/anime, browsing stuff on the Internet, and lately, reading some stuff. I am not much of a gamer, I don't even have a console anymore, but if that's your thing, when we meet and if you'd like, I'd definitely be willing to play with you in case that's one of your hobbies. I'll also be happy to join you in doing casual exercise if you like doing that, but I am by no means a hardcore gym-enthusiast.
My intention is to have, firstly, a LDR in order for us to get to know each other better and see if we're compatible, and if so, then it would hopefully develop into a healthy, loyal, and honest relationship. Not only that, but I'll also want to be your best friend, which means that I'll want to do all kinds of things together, from day to day stuff, to sharing hobbies, etc.
If you think this could actually work, feel free to send me a PM and tell me a bit about you! Have a nice day!