They always frame this as a Japanese thing since that is where you first hear that term but the same phenomenon can happen anywhere (they don't call it hikikomori), like isolating themselves from society, being in their own room. (The meme: "guy living in moms basement" may be the cloest analogy). Also Housing is much cheaper in Japan than in the US where it's expensive to even rent an apartment, let alone buy a home.

Part of me thinks it's because that it's an easier jab for them to focus on (non-Western) countries upon discussing it on media while the same thing can happen in where they live but refuse to address it, why is that the case? Hikikomori is possible in Japan because they provide people with housing assitance. They have public housing for low income people and provide financial assistance in which one can apply.

Convenience store food like ramen are cheap, so if they can scrape together enough money for food that's all they need to leave the house for. The same thing in the US is too distant and car dependent (you need to drive to such place) while in Japan you can easily walk up to a kobini and buy food and drinks if you reside near one. Convenience store food in America is a rip off and carries a reputation of having bad quality.

I realize I've spent over a year in an organization where things kept falling apart because, ultimately, people in the organization just plain didn't like me.

It started, perhaps, when I brought up that HR's onboarding process made me uncomfortable because it involved a third-party sending out a third-party email to go to a third-party website to entire our personal information. Since this was a training by the larger corporate IT department, and we had just finished talking about the dangers of phishing, I thought it was a good time to mention it.

Mistake.

The next week I was visited by someone who took issue with, "not what I said, but the way I said it". Lesson: don't embarass HR in company-wide trainings.

Anyway, after a few similar call outs by me, I was labelled a trouble-maker, sidelined, ignored, and mistreated. This is an organization, I note, that assiduously avoids contradicting or discomfiting superiors in ANY way. That is deffos not my style.

Anyway, my question really isn't about my toxic workplace, but what you learned about YOURSELF by working in a place that didn't like you.

I'll give you two more stories:

1

When I just graduated from school, I started working with a team model. I was paired with someone with fewer certifications, and I was to lead us boldly on our mission. The person I was assigned was a very beaten-down older, brown woman in a field dominated by young white women (seemingly universally with long, straight hair). She seemed to be universally disliked and disrespected by everyone. Because I was incompetent both at my job and my Spanish (sabo kid in denial), this woman essentially did my job and HERS and still got treated like absolute shit.

She invited me to an event that had nothing to do with work, an event for an organization she volunteered for where she was on the board. People treated her with respect and, in return, she was bright and bubbly. I saw a completely different side of her that night.

Lesson: Where we are beaten down, we get small. Where we are supported, we flourish.

(Kind of an aside, she was from a small country, and when I told her I was visiting, she INSISTED I go see one of her family members; he turned out to be an extremely well placed person in the government; she wasn't royalty, exactly, but she had a social prestige in her country that was unsustainable as a middle-aged brown woman with an accent in the USA.)

2

I was working retail at one store. I'd been there for maybe two years. I always lived in fear of being fired, and when I made mistakes that I worried about getting me fired, nothing happened. I learned that, ultimately, what mattered is if people liked you, and, there, people liked me.

I eventually had to leave because of some restructuring but the manager found me the EXACT SAME POSITION at a nearby store. After a few weeks, I noticed people did NOT like me. Conversations were kept short, nobody ever volunteered to talk to me,. I got along with exactly one cashier, who was an awesome dude. It wasn't a horrible experience, I was allowed to do my job and I did, but there was always an empty, hollow feeling.

Then the original store invited me back and it was like night and day. "Oh, so this is how people act when they like you." I'd almost forgotten. I loved going into to work to see my work buddies and I loved shooting the shit with them during downtime.

@asklemmy@lemmy.world @ask@piefed.social For working on videos, codecs and bitrates are more important ? The container is secondary ??

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/questions/p/1235213/how-do-you-keep-yourself-sane-and-happy-while-1-right-wing-fascists-are-getting-powerful

How the fuck do people don't get radical or depressed?

References for claims mentioned in the question:

• Freedom House, 16-April-2026;
• Oxfam, 19-January 2026;
• UN, 4-March-2026

Right now, I have a mess of bookmarks, open tabs, and things saved haphazardly in different apps. I want a system where I can organize it all and also keep it reasonably private. Open to all suggestions, whether that's an app or a tool or a personal trick or some completely different way of interacting with the internet.

I recently stopped using Spotify and other music streaming platforms. And I downloaded all my music. But I am not able to find a "good" music player for me.

I have tried VLC, PixelPlayerOSS, Musicolet, and Felicity so far.

Recommend me a music player.

Edit: the main feature I would like in my music player is automatic lyrics search

I know that Japanese pronunciation is easier than let's say Korean when you hear either language spoken. The reason why pronouncing Japanese is apparently easier is due to the defined nature of their phonology and the vowels present including watching Anime, but can the same be said for Korean pronunciation?

I mean, when you watch K-Drama: is it really easy to pick up Korean phonology by listening or is it complicated? Also, Korean "anime" isn't common in the same manner as Japanese anime as they focus more on making movies with actual actors rather than voice acting. Is it harder to listen to Korean than Japanese or vice versa?

EDIT: Enshittification, also known as platform decay, is a process in which two-sided online products and services decline in quality over time. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attract users, then they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers, and finally degrade their services to both users and business customers to maximize short-term profits for shareholders.

I am interested in hearing your opinions about nuclear power, what you know, if you have any fears, or ideas? Do you know if your country has any nuclear power generation?

I'm shopping for a new domain provider. Just seeing what is out there. I've been with Namecheap for years, and if i had a gripe, it would be about the price hikes, which really are just ICANN prices kicked down to us, but, I am wondering if there is greener grass out there. Recommendations?

Thanks.

** Edit, an update after doing the math. My working matrix for why I am migrating to Porkbun.

Namecheap > .tv = $40.98

Porkbun > .tv = $26.26

Namecheap > .co = $45.48

Porkbun > .co = $31.20

Namecheap > .net = $18.58

Porkbun > .net = $12.52

Namecheap > .com = $18.48

Porkbun > .com = $11.08

For reference, I’m talking about r/CreateARoster and r/WorldBuilding (more specifically r/NSFWWorldbuilding and r/WorldJerking).

Many flags around the world are iconic, think the ones of France, Canada, South Africa, the Nordics, etc.

However, there are some that aren't as good, like the Australian and New Zealand flags, both of which still retain the union jack with little Indigenous symbolism. Speaking as an Australian myself, our flag isn't all that great! The Southern Cross is cool, but there is no hint of green/gold, and the union jack just looks tacked on. There are also many flags that look good, but the symbolism represents ideas that you're against. Think Iran's flag that draws heavily from their sect of Islam and the theocracy, or the PRC's flag having the smaller stars representing the people surrounding the larger star representing the one party state. There's also some that are okay, but a bit boring and hard of distinguish from the rest, and an additional element would make it stand out more.

And purple should be on more flags! Republican Spain during the 1930s had some purple, but they lost the civil war and the flag was replaced.

If you could change the national flags of the world, what would be your flag proposals?

I find I am my own worst enemy. Self sabotaging before I even get started. Doubt. The cycles of starting and then quitting jobs or healthy habits.

What are your tricks to get out of your own head?

Like this: the individual has a bank account with some left over balance (not much) but the last time it was ever used for any transactions was like 48 months ago (since then, no further activity has been recorded nor has the associated card been used to conduct a transaction). Just because it's inactive, can the bank close that person's account due to inactivity?

What do you remember?

Link to an article about what it is: https://www.scrile.com/blog/what-is-an-ai-influencer

AI influencers are reshaping social media with digital faces that look real, act consistent, and attract millions of followers. This article explains what AI influencers are, how they’re created, why brands invest in them, and how you can build your own digital persona with Scrile AI.

An excerpt from that article.

These really do seem they should be easy to find and fairly cheap, but Lowes doesn't have any, and apparently eBay doesn't give a flying fuck if you literally declare the exact measurements..

Halp 'preciated...

I have a bunch of hobbies, which range from female dominated to a solid mix of participants. However, for a hobby that has a good number of both men and women involved, there seems to be a gap in the participation and achievement levels in a way that mostly alings with gender. A friend of mine mentioned we would have to look at how men engage with hobbies.

Do you feel that the ways men and women engage with hobbies generally, but especially when they share the same hobby still differs?