SHEIN has experienced explosive growth through obscenely low prices, achieved by exploiting trade rules (de minimis value to offer free shipping), forced labor in manufacturing, ghost shifts, plagiarism, use of garbage materials (incl. cotton alleged to be created via slave labor), and "just in time" manufacturing habits that triple-down on items that sell.[1] Not to mention a gamified app pandering to a very addicted audience (average SHEIN shopper is 35 and spends 60% more than most folks per month on clothes)[2] and seems to have a "I shouldn't have to pay what things cost to manufacture, and whatever I want in my size shouldn't cost me more" attitude re: clothing.
H&M has positioned itself as more of an "eco friendly" and "fair wages" player but as a fast fashion retailer, has had accusations of similar practices in the past.
SHEIN seems a little different due to the nature, scale, and shameless lying infused in their approach. Their actions are orders of magnitude more intense even the grey zone manufacturing practices of Forever 21/Zara. Goes without saying no fast fashion is "ethical" by any stretch, but SHEIN is on another level.
Your sister sounds like my brother (minus the cosmetics— his focus is on other things). I can deeply relate to your experience.
I'd highly recommend the book "Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End" by Saito Tamaki, translated by Jeffrey Angles. First published in 1998 it describes the "hikikomori" social/psychological phenomenon, and ways treatment has been approached. Ultimately, Saito observes that nobody can "fix" the individual hikikomori directly— therapy must be multi-faceted, continuous, and ongoing, focused on reducing stigma and shame. And for all that, may ultimately not be effective.
It's very interesting how this thread treats the decision to have children as a purely rational, logistical one. I would argue it is not entirely rational/logical.
Likely trite, but: I learned that I'm continuously learning far more than I realize— but that if I don't log what I learn somehow (journal, notes, essays), I'm left with a far fainter sense of accumulation & a far weaker understanding overall.
Practically, I learned how to fully clean stainless steel pans (boil vinegar after cooking; baking soda scrub if really filthy).
I frequently use Wiktionary on desktop. I find it invaluable for tracing certain elements of etymology, but still largely prefer Etymonline.
It's worth noting that I access these things most frequently on mobile, so an app (with a clean, ad-free, streamlined UI) is paramount.
Your comment sparked me to seek out whether Wiktionary has an app— and apparently someone has built this iPhone app for a reader view, which at first use appears identical to the desktop view: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/wiktionary-reader/id984975341
The definitions, while slightly archaic, are evocative of the etymological valences in ways that other dictionary apps (Merriam-Webster, Oxford Dictionary, Dictionary.com) lack. The WWD also has a pleasingly clean UI, smooth interaction, and no ads.
> "[...] very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop [...]"
Nose tipping up, followed by steep drop. Sounds like the plane stalled.