The History Of Drug Use

The usage of drugs and widely understood psychoactive substances have been known as long as humanity's recorded history lets us discover.

According to professor Elisa Guerra-Doce, people have tried to alter their consciousness ever since prehistoric times:

"(...) the evidence shows that people have been chewing the leaves of a plant called the betel since at least 2660 B.C (...) The plant contains chemicals that have stimulant- and euphoria-inducing properties, and these days is mostly consumed in Asia.

The earliest evidence of opium poppy use in Europe comes from the Neolithic site of La Marmotta in Italy, which dates back to the mid-sixth millennium B.C., according to the study. The domestication of the plant in Europe likely began around that time, in the western Mediterranean, and then spread  to northwestern Europe by the end of that millennium." (Guerra-Doce, 2015)

In the cited fragment, the author mentions two plants – the betel, and the opium poppy – both of which might be familiar to the reader (however, as also stated in text, the western readers might be more acquainted with the latter), since their usage is still prevalent today. It is important to note that, nevertheless, there was no sudden revival of the usage of certain substances, but they were the subject of a custom thorough the time leading to the present day. The author of the official website of The International Network of People who Use Drugs presents the timeline of drug usage – including mainly opium, as well as various stimulants, but also mentioning widely consumed and , in most cases, legal products, that contain an addictive component, like coffee, tea, and alcohol  – starting from the habits of the ancient Sumerians, up to the year 2014.

The report asserts that the beginning of opium usage outside of Europe ought to be placed in the year 5000 B.C., since the presence of a certain ideogram in the Sumerian writing system. However, there seems to be no trace recorded of any other drug thorough the next 1500 years – both in Europe and other parts of the world – when the first known use of alcohol is acknowledged in Egypt, and when the practice of drinking tea starts in China (which is also characteristic for the region even today). Aside from what can be learnt from Guerra-Doce, opium is tracked in the Old Continent yet again in present-day Switzerland, where it appeared in the form of edible seeds.

Interestingly (especially for the further part of the chapter), alongside with the description of drug use, the author also mentions the first ever attempt at substance prohibition. The Endeavour took the form of a religious teaching, which was conducted by an Egyptian priest, who forbade his listeners from visiting taverns, explaining that drinking alcohol would make them behave “degraded like beasts”.

The article then temporarily abandons strictly historical records, and, instead, focuses on the mentions of addictive substances in the Bible (which, obviously, influenced the behavior and attitude of its readers); the cited part (Proverbs, 31:6-7) encourages those who witness someone suffering to offer them alcohol, which will supposedly help the offered forget their hardships.The reference to Christianity also introduces the part of the report that concentrates on the A.D., with the words of the Bishop of Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom: “I hear man cry, ‘Would there be no wine! O folly! O madness!’”After that we learn about the start of the use of yet another popular substance, tobacco, in Europe – the drug was imported to his homeland in 1493 by Christopher Columbus, who encountered its usage during one of his voyages.

What is common for all the aforementioned records is that the use of the substances was purely recreational (with the possible exception of alcohol being the cure for misery – still, it cannot be considered an appropriate medical remedy). Outlining the beginning of the 16th century, however, the author brings up the Swiss alchemist, Paracelsus, who was the first to propose opium as a means that can be used in medicine (which, on the other hand, is essential for latter chapters); yet, the acclaimed researcher specified neither the particular branch of medicine papaversomniferum (the scientific name of poppy plant) could be applicable for, nor the particular issue opium could be a cure for. It is possible that in the light of seemingly positive effects it had on the users' mental state (albeit only temporarily), Paracelsus suspected the properties of opium could be somehow introduced into the methods of an actual therapy.

After describing several other attempts at prohibition (namely by czar Michael Fedorovich and Sultan Murad IV; focusing mainly on tobacco, both the user and the supplier were to be tortured or executed), the above-mentioned ambiguity is cleared by pointing out the statement of the English physician, Thomas Sydenham, who attributes unprecedented and exceptional painkilling properties to opium: “Among the remedies which it has pleased the Almighty God to give to man to relieve his sufferings, none is so universal and efficacious as opium.”

En passant, a worth mentioning and thought-provoking employment of consciousness-altering substances can be found in the 18th century England: only those who “would take oaths of allegiance and of belief in the King’s supremacy over the Church” could be allowed to consume alcohol legally. This exception from prohibition is a clear example of a benefit offered in exchange for political gain.

With the passage of time, however, the attitude towards certain addictives began to change, according to the author. Shortly after the first known inclusion of drugs in politics, at the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in Connecticut, the first temperance group started, focusing principally on alcohol addiction and abuse.

Accordingly, in their book Drugs in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, Nancy E. Marion and Willard M. Oliver (2014) described alcohol usage as:

"(…) a disease, produced by a remote cause, and giving birth to actions and movements in the living body that disorder the functions of health. The habit of drunkenness is a disease of the mind." (p. 54)

Likewise, looking to the East, in 1792 Chinese rulers passed the law that prohibited the usage of opium, under threat of capital punishment.

Nevertheless, the growing animosity towards drugs (at the time mainly alcohol and opium) did not prevent the emergence of different substances. Near the end of the 18th century, cannabis – another well-known (as well as controversial, due to varying restrictions around the world) modern drug – arrived to France as a consequence of Napoleon Bonaparte's return from Egypt, where it had already been in use.

Few years later, at the beginning of the 19th century, opium became the center of attention in the world of medicine yet again, as a derivative of the drug, morphine was isolated in Germany. FriederichSerturner, who conducted the procedure, first tested the effects of morphine on dogs, describing it as a “sleep-inducing molecule” (which came to him as no surprise, since the sedative impact of opium on the organism). Later, after risking self-medication with his discovery that, ultimately, brought him relief and left no negative side effects, he began to test continuously morphine on volunteers, including himself. Finally, he was able to determine an efficient, yet safe oral dose (as medical syringes had yet to be devised by the time of Serturner's discovery), and, in the same decade, he opened a pharmacy in northwestern Germany.

Despite earlier claims and research on the painkilling effects of poppy plant, FriederichSerturner's work marks the official introduction of an opium-related medication to the market. Interestingly, morphine was advertised not only as a pain reliever, but as a medicine with various other qualities (some of the qualifying as meeting the criteria of recreational use), such as documented by Chandrasekhar Krishnamurti and Chakra Rao (2016):

"(...) anxiolysis, euphoria and feelings of relaxation. (...) The drug is also dramatically effective in cardiogenic pulmonary oedema as it calms the patient and reduces dyspnoea and myocardial oxygen demand."

At that time, addictive purposes of opium were not widely discussed, or even known. In 1822, Thomas De Quincey, whose signature work, Confessions of an English Opium Eater, is believed to have introduced the topic of drug dependency into popular literature, wrote:

"Making allowance for constitutional differences, I should say that *in less that 120 days* no habit of opium-eating could be formed strong enough to call for any extraordinary self-conquest in renouncing it, even suddenly renouncing it. On Saturday you are an opium eater, on Sunday no longer such." (p. 34)

Taking the drug's apparent non-addictiveness and medical versality, the demand for papaversomniferum, had siginifically increased since the discovery of morphine. In 1839 however, the export of opium from China (the main supplier) to Europe through British East Indian Company, was at the risk of being halted entirely, as the Daoguang Emperor, concerned about the rising number of opium-related problems (mainly the issue of addiction that increased after the EIC started to illegally grow the plant in India – in contrast to Western societies and governments, Chinese rulers had not only been interested in the positive properties of the drug, but also were not oblivious to its disadvantages and tried to warm the citizens about them), did not agree to legalize the culture of the plant, and tried to stop the trade.

When the Emperor's diplomatic attempts at abolishing the sale failed, the General Governor of Hubei and Hunan provinces ordered to forcefully impound all opium from the western sellers' shops, and ordered the incoming ships to give up their cargo.

This measure resulted in the British deploying their military to China (thus starting the war), and ultimately, defeating the much more numerous Chinese forces. The First Opium War resulted in the Treaty of Nanking being signed; the document allowed free trade with Western merchants, as well as ordained the opening of five new ports.

The unrest related to opium did not decrease the interest in the manufacturing and distribution of other substances in the West, mainly thanks to the popular figures involved in the process. Abraham Lincoln mentions his doubts related to the temperance movement in his Temperance Address from 1842:

“In my judgment, such of us as have never fallen victims, have been spared more from the absence of appetite, than from any mental or moral superiority over those who have. Indeed, I believe, if we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. The demon of intemperance ever seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity. What one of us but can call to mind some dear relative, more promising in youth than all his fellows, who has fallen a sacrifice to his rapacity?” (p. 272)

Nevertheless, despite such assessment from the president, the Temperance movement was still active. Three years later after Lincoln's speech, the State of New York delegalised public sale of liquor. The ban, nonetheless, lasted only two years before being overturned in 1847.

The attempts at restricting the sale and consumption of alcohol might have been unsuccessful at the time, but the foundation of The American Pharmaceutical Association at the beginning of the new decade seemed to have established – albeit not as strict – but a similar goal in association with pharmaceuticals (1958):

“(...) to aid in the detection of prevention of adulteration and misbranding or drugs and medicines (…) To support a system of of licensure and registration of pharmacists which will assure to the public the the availability of competent personnel to discharge the accepted functions of the practice of pharmacy and assure the availability of pharmacists and pharmaceutical service which will provide at all times for the distribution of drugs and medicines under the supervision of qualified pharmacists.” (p. 4)

Similarly, education and supervision became the main purpose of action of the Temperance movement, as well as other parties concerned with the problem of substance dependence (in the wake of such shift in the methods of preventing addictions, The Personal Liberty League of the United States was created). By the year 1900, all states have been subjected to laws introducing “temperance education” as a part of school curriculum.

It is worth noticing that the establishment of  The Personal Liberty League of the United States did not prevent the exclusion of certain people from being subjected to forceful abolition. Henry Cabot Lodge, a senator from Massachusetts, proposed a bill that did not allow the sale of liquor and opium to “aboriginal tribes and uncivilized races (…) uncivilized elements in America itself and in its territories, such as Indians, Alaskans, the inhabitants of Hawaii, railroad workers, and immigrants at ports of entry”.  

The beginning of the new century was marked by the growing suspicion of opium and its derivates (but also a fairly new invention and a stimulant, cocaine) for not being only a miraculous cure for pain. In 1905, Senator Henry W. Blair concluded:

“The temperance movement must include all poisonous substances which create unnatural appetite, and international prohibition is the goal.”

The skepticism resulted in the establishing of Pure Food and Drug Act – the sale of any derivative of opium was banned until the product was labeled as containing such substances. (Around the same time, Coca-Cola removed cocaine as one of the ingredients, and replaced it with caffeine).

Soon, the concern was not only limited to politicians, but also spreaded among general population. Dr. Charles B. Towns (1914) wrote in his article in the Century Magazine, pointing at analogous properties of tobacco, alcohol, and opium:

“A boy always starts smoking before he starts drinking. If he is disposed to drink, that disposition will be increased by smoking, because the action of tobacco makes it normal for him to feel the need of stimulation. He is likely to go to alcohol to soothe the muscular unrest, to blunt the irritation he has received from tobacco. From alcohol he goes to morphine for the same reason. The nervous condition due to excessive drinking is allayed by morphine, just as the nervous condition due to excessive smoking is allayed by alcohol(...) Morphine is the legitimate consequence of alcohol, and alcohol is the legitimate consequence of tobacco. Cigarettes, drink, opium, is the logical and regular series.”

Finally, in 1914, with the introduction of The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, the sale of opiates and products containing cocaine was strictly regulated (although, the latter could still be distributed under certain conditions). The Act omitted marijuana, a substance that grew in popularity, mainly due to this sole reason.

This changed in 1937 with the enacting of The Marijuana Tax Act. Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger noticed:

“How many murders, suicides, robberies, criminal assaults, hold-ups, burglaries, and deeds of maniacal insanity it [marijuana] causes each year, especially among the young, can only be conjectured.”

As with any of the aforementioned cases of banning or restricting the use of addictive substances, the 1937 act received  vocal criticism. In The Marijuana Bugaboo, colonel J.M. Phalen asserted that the effects of the usage of cannabis are no more harmful than the effects of smoking cigarettes. He also maintained that there would not be any persecution of soldiers (the article was published in 1943) using the drug as he did not consider it a problem of any kind.

The negative effects of widely known addictives – especially alcohol – began to be recognised more often, and became more available to the population, mainly thanks to the popular figures involved in the process.

However, when it comes to mainstream consciousness, drugs became popularised in the 1960s, as their usage, together with colorful clothes, flower-painted vans, and music festivals was one of the characteristics of the “age of love”, the peak popularity of hippy subculture. As stated in Drug Enforcement Administration, A Tradition of Excellence (2009):

“In 1973, President Richard Nixon declared “an all-out global war on the drug menace” and sent Reorganization Plan No. 2 to Congress. “Right now,” he pointed out, “the federal government  is fighting the war on drug abuse under a distinct handicap, for its efforts are those of a loosely confederated alliance facing a resourceful, elusive, worldwide enemy. Certainly, the cold-blooded underworld networks that funnel narcotics from suppliers all over the world are no respecters of the bureaucratic dividing lines that now complicate our anti-drug efforts.” (p. 13)

Richard Nixon also requested establishing a federal agency that would integrate the government’s politics concerning prevention of drug abuse and trafficking; the proposal provided the basis for the creation of DEA (United States Drug Enforcement Administration). DEA would take over the drug enforcement operations of the consequently destabilished Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

The Senate referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's broadened role in the field (DEA would be permitted to use the data FBI has obtained on drug-related crimes), coordinating the extortions of various local and foreign organs specialising in working against narcotic (as well as citing the assets of general administration, inter alia, diminished susceptibility for corruption and abuse of power), and determining the creation of the DEA as the catalyst for the mutual efforts of all other forces to be condensed together in order for the to result in a more successful outcome as the main benefits of the creation of the new agency.

One of the crucial factors in carrying out fruitful operations was efficient and trusted intelligence. The author describes the need:

"Accurate and up-to-date information was required to assess the operations and vulnerabilities of criminal networks, to interdict drugs in a systematic way, to forecast new methods of trafficking, to evaluate the impact of previous activities, and to establish long-range drug strategies and policies. Included in the DEA mission was a mandate for drug intelligence."

The mandate was passed and at the beginning of July 1973 the DEA established its own Office of Intelligence. Similarly to the base for creating the entity itself, the benefits of the coordinated efforts of non-federal agencies was quoted as one of the biggest advantages of the the newly-established office, together with identifying the past mistakes and insufficiencies in drug enforcement.

The office comprised of three main branches of interest: operational (analysis of the obtained data), tactical (finding and identifying drug traffickers), and strategic (recognising a general pattern according to which traffickers and producers operate).

Interestingly, shortly after the creation of the Office, the majority of those in charge of its operations did not have any experience in working in such field. According to the author, less than fifteen officials had worked as intelligence agents before. Such situation, however, did not prevent the DEA from creating its first task force - still in 1973. The UID (Unified Intelligence Division) and its achievements have been characterised by the author as:

"This pioneering role expanded the horizons of drug law enforcement field intelligence units, which, at the time, were often limited to collecting information, maintaining dossiers, and providing limited case support. This proactive stance was immediately successful as UID was able to develop and disseminate extensive intelligence on traditional organized crime-related drug traffickers and identify not only the leaders, but also those who were likely to become leaders."

The compelling activities of the division carried out through the next decade; the operations of the UID were the main factor in the decrease of cocaine abuse on the East Coast.

Despite the success of the UID, the DEA had to also focus on other factors that would provide a fruitful fight against drugs - one of them being proper organization of the tasks and procedures. The role was appointed to the DECS (The Drug Enforcement Coordinating System). The system monitored all the activities and cases the DEA was currently working on - a measure that prevented different agencies from unnecessarily repeating their efforts, but, most importantly, the DECS ensured the safety of the agents and various other officials, who thus could be informed of the difficulty level of a certain case and, subsequently, of any jeopardy connected to it.

An office similar to DECS, NADDIS (National Narcotics Intelligence System) was also developed the year the DEA started; it was of great importance and interest, however, as it was the first index of the operations that involved minimum of manual effort, being highly computerised instead. The author concludes its formation as:

"(...) possible because the DEA was the first law enforcement agency in the

nation to adopt an all-electronic, centralized, computer database for its records. NADDIS, composed of data from DEA investigative reports and teletypes, provided agents in all DEA domestic offices with electronic access to investigative file data."

"Investigative data" referred not only to illegal manufacturers and traffickers, but also to the victims of drugs abuse. The aim of DAWN (Drug Abuse Warning Network) was to monitor the scale of the consumption of illegal substances in the United States. DAWN, nevertheless, did not rely only on sources connected to the DEA; the Network joined efforts with hospitals, tracking the admissions of the patients that suffered with the use of illegal drugs or used legal substances recreationally. The author provides a descriptions of the clinics involved in operations conducted by DAWN:

"Non-federal, short-stay general hospitals that feature a 24-hour emergency department (...) The data from this sample were used to generate estimates of the total number of emergency department drug episodes and drug mentions in all such hospitals."

The focus on short-stay hospitals appears to be important, as drug-related cases generally require immediate intervention, but a long-term stay after the treatment is, in most cases, needed.

The investigation of hospitals was supposedly linked to passing Narcotic Addict Treatment Act. The aim of the act was to identify and list the doctors (but also nurses) who admitted narcotics to their patients suffering with drug addiction as a treatment. As stated by the author, the act "eliminated the indiscriminate prescription

of narcotics to addicts and reduced the diversion of pharmaceutical narcotics."

When describing the versality of the DEA, it is important to yet again acknowledge one of the core reasons for its development - the diversity of resources, which, as a consequence, leads to the Department's functionality and high adaptability to disparate environments.

A year before President Nixon's declaration, the amount of heroin illegally trafficked from Mexico reached a record number (it surpassed the amount of the drug coming from Europe by forty percent). As the control of the trafficking was no longer manageable by the forces that usually operated at the southern border, the Mexican government asked The United States for cooperation. The request resulted in three separate applications of drug enforcement - Operation Special Enforcement Activity in Mexico, concentrated in Sinaloa and focusing on heroin and opium, Operation Endrun - in Guerrero, targeting marijuana trafficking, and Operation Trident (suspending the movement of other illicit substances).

The fight against drugs, however, was not limited to more “casual” forms of actions, like the aforementioned intelligence or dealing with border traffickers. The DEA yet again took advantage of the still fairly new tools that, thanks to their computerisation, proved to be very useful to their mission.

Due to the fact that video cameras in the seventies were much bigger and heavier than their today's equivalents, the agents used mainly sound recorders. The equipment, however still heavy and relying on batteries that often turned out to be of short durability, was concealed as a belt worn by the person underneath their clothes; still, this method could only be used it the member of the DEA was able to be physically present at the scene. If the situation required higher level of concealiblity, the so called “pen registers” were relied on. The author describes such interesting in a greater detail:

“Pen registers, or dialed number recorders, were more advanced than the older versions, which actually punched holes in a tape, similar to an old ticker tape, in response to the pulses from a rotary dialed phone.“

The then-available technology did not only help in obtaining evidence, but also made the communication between the staff (and, obviously, between the agents assigned to a certain mission) easier. No mobile phones were used at the time being (with an exception of a specific type of such device, yet it was used only by the DEA administration), but a radio system was soon established. The data sharing was far from ideal, especially due to the tardiness of the transmitters, yet its usage was beneficial for both the DEA and the BNDD.

A different, more scientific approach to technology was managed in a form of the examination of the captured substances in the chemical laboratories. At the beginning, the Administration was not in charge of their own exclusive laboratories, but rather was supported by various government offices concerned with chemical composition of drugs; they would later be conjoined into one system, under the supervision of the DEA, and characterised by the author as:

“(...) primarily responsible for performing the ballistics analyses of tablets and capsules, identifying newly-encountered compounds found in drug traffic, and conducting methods development. (...) The original chemist work force for these laboratories came from several field laboratories run by government agencies. The professional staffing of the six laboratories consisted of 36 “bench” chemists doing physical lab research, supplemented by five supervisory chemists.”

Finally, the technology that came into use was also present in forms fairly different from recording devices and laboratory glass.

With the expansion of drug trafficking, it soon became clear that the issue could no longer be monitored only by ground patrols; yet, when the idea of using aircraft in order to track the traffickers was first conceived, the DEA did not have resourses sufficient to acquire a plane. Nonetheless, the concept ended up being put into execution, mainly thanks to the retired air force pilot, simply known as “Joseph” - the Administration was granted a military assistance (an operation possible in cases of organs of the government) in a form of a plane.

The idea produced a very successful, desired outcome and, still in 1973, the DEA (or, more specifically, its Air Wing) was in possession of over twenty single-engine planes.

The beginning of the 1970s marks the start of the organised policy concerning the prevention of drug trafficking and substance abuse, as well as the elimination of already existing issues, hence the time period was discussed and focused on the most above. The description of the methods used by the assigned forces, as well as the recounting of the introduction of various substances into the human society at various stages of its development, were also conductive to understanding the mechanics of physical and mental addiction.

What is more, the depiction of both the fight against drugs and their continuous presence in the life of a man, illustrates yet another matter – the continuity of the said process. The War on Drugs is but the most popularised of its stages; as mentioned in the earlier parts of the chapter, the first ever (recorded) attempt at prohibition took place in the ancient Egypt, followed by numerous later attempts, but so did the usage of drugs, alongside with the efforts to diminish the notion of their negative effects on health in the people's consciousness (e.g. the comparison of cannabis to tobacco).

Conclusively, the mechanism is still present nowadays.

The indication for the process reoccurring in the last decades became most noticeable at the end of the twentieth century. The diagram presented below illustrates the number of deaths related to abuse of prescription opioids, as compared to heroin (diacetylmorphine) and other drugs of the same type (according to CDC Wonder):

 

The issue of the growing number of prescription opioids overdoses spiked rapidly at the end of the 1990s, together with the general number of deaths caused by related substances. Interestingly, the level of heroin usage did not increase up until over a decade later, where a slight decrease in the overdoses on the legally distributed substances can be spotted. Such interchangeability suggests a correlation between both types of opioids, the possibility of one being successfully replaced with the other as the subject of addiction.

When presented with the theory, one might argue that even though the drugs prescribed medications come from the same drug class as the illegal items, the former must have specific indications of being non-addictive, or at least less harmful than the latter, since it is sold in accordance with the law. Whereas such logic appears to be reasonable, the rationale for the pharmaceuticals as the “safe version” of opioids can be demystified by comparing the properties of both.

(The medicament used for comparison in the drug OxyContin, as the agent quoted above describes it as the most abused prescription drug in the US.)

According to the Californian drug recovery facility, New Life House:

"users seek the euphoric, pain relieving and sedative effects (...) Some possible signs of Oxycontin abuse are lethargy, stoned appearance, pinpoint pupils, constipation, loss of appetite, and lack of interest in recreational activities".   

In his book Dope Double Agent: The Naked Emperor on Drugs, author Michael Agar (2006) describes his own experience with opioids, albeit the outlawed ones. The summary of his involvement with heroin can further serve as a matter of the aforementioned comparison:

“Patrons sat along the bar like birds on a wire. I nodded at a couple I knew by sight. (...) I looked around at the empty bar stools, trying to decide where I’d sit. Then it hit me – I didn’t give a shit. In fact, I didn’t give a shit the rest of the evening – it didn’t matter what anyone said or did. It didn’t matter if I spilled my drink or not. It just didn’t matter. I was always pretty relaxed in Stryker’s, but I was even more relaxed than usual. I just didn’t have a care in the world.” (p. 173)

The focus on the sedative and calming properties of both substances reads as the most distinguishable. This comes as no surprise, since opioids are well-known for such inducing such effects, which has also been mentioned earlier in the description of FriederichSerturner's work on poppy plant.  

As the data and testimonies provided above helped establish that legally sold opioids (OxyContin) possess the same or very similar qualities as heroin (diacetylmorphine) it is important to focus on the issue of safety yet again. How is that possible that despite almost twenty thousand deaths in 2014 caused by pharmaceutical painkillers, they are still being marketed? Why is their striking similarity to delegalised substances not an indicator of them also becoming outlawed?

First and foremost, it is only logical that no substance would be marketed as a painkiller if it did not provide painkilling attributes. In this case, the medicines work by stopping certain neurotransmitters from receiving signals responsible for provoking pain-inducing reactions. Such process proves to be effective as, according to the 2014 report by Medical Magazine, all ten most popular painkillers in the USA are opioids (four of them being based on oxycodone, the substance sold primarily under the name OxyContin).

RxList, in their section dedicated to pain management, provides the explanation for such phenomenon and proof of the effectivity of opioids:

“Opioid analgesics, in general, are the strongest pain-relieving medications. The benchmark drug in this class is morphine (...) Opioids more powerful than morphine include hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and oxymorphone (Opana) [Opana has already been removed from the marked due to large scale of abuse]. But the strongest opioid in community use is fentanyl which, in its intravenous form, is 70 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is also available as a long-release patch (Duragesic) and as a lozenge that dissolves in the mouth (Actiq). Sufentanil is even more powerful than fentanyl, but its use, at present is restricted to the intravenous route.”

That is, obviously, not to say that the noticeable benefits patients receive from opioid-based treatment diminish the data collected on lethal overdoses or prevent attempts to restrict or control the sale.

One of such pursuits gained considerable media attention in 2019, as CDC (The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) presented new guidelines for the sale and indications for prescribing opioid-based medicines. As summarised by the article published on the official website for American Physical Therapy Association, the content of the guideline raised concerns among patients suffering from chronic pain, as they feared they would no longer be allowed to obtain the medication that helped them alleviate their symptoms; what is more, numerous organisations concerned with oncology (opioids are also widely used in treating pain in patients with cancer) and hematology accused the CDC of helping create circumstances in which patients would consider bribing the doctor in order to be able to acquire the drug essential in their long-term treatment. The CDC responded to the complaints by stating:

“The Guideline was developed to provide recommendations for primary care physicians who prescribe opioids for chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care (...) The Guideline is not intended to deny any patients who suffer with chronic pain from opioid therapy as an option for pain management (...) the Guideline is intended to ensure that clinicians and patients consider all safe and effective treatment options.”

According to the article, the mention of “all safe and effective treatment options” refers to non-opiod painkillers; such solution would prove to be beneficial, provided the use of the substitute substances possessed less or no risk of addiction and abuse. However, the report by Medical Magazine, as well as the data provided by RxList, remind one that the painkilling qualities of opioids are still considered the most effective. A long-time user of a certain pharmaceutical that provided them with successful pain management would also feel hesitant to trying a new, less known solution.

Likewise, one of the comments referring the article on the actions taken by the CDS helps better illustrate the issue from the perspective of the person directly concerned with it:

“I too live in severe chronic pain and have been reduced to a point that I don't sleep or want to eat so my weight has dropped to less than 100 pounds. I followed the instructions on my bottle religiously because I needed them to live a somewhat normal life. It is sad some choose to abuse but why are we punished for it. (...) The numbers are skewed and docs know who does and doesn't abuse we are monitored like children. WE ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT as those who choose to abuse or abuse street drugs...where is the compassion for us..the ones who can't be "fixed"?”

All the factors detailed above seem to have created a paradox that bars both parties – those that developed drug dependence because of improper usage and those that need certain medicines for legitimate causes – from receiving a helpful, safe solution to their dilemma. While opioids constitute a huge percentage of prescription misuse, and overdoses, no resolution has yet been provided that would arrest or at least reduce the issue without doing disservice to patients with chronic pain.

The purpose of the chapter was to not only familiarise one with the history of substance abuse, its characteristics in reference to specific drugs, but also to introduce the concept of prescription abuse and the concern of the shared origins of specific pharmaceuticals and illegal substances. Therefore, because of its purpose, the chapter does not detail specific cases, but simply helps illustrate the general issue.

Postcolonial criticism in Ann Radcliffe's 'The Italian'

The name Ann Radcliffe rings a familiar note for everyone interested in Gothic literature -  however, she is not a figure popular only among fans of the particular genre. Having utilised her vivid imagination and exceptional linguistic skills, Radcliffe became one of the most notable authors in the 18th century. Nonetheless, despite her wide recognition still being mainly associated with the realm of the supernatural, the versality of her abilities allowed her to appropriate eclectic elements of different kinds of fiction into her own work.

Born in London in the second half of the 18th century, the author grew up during the times of the birth and development of Gothic literature. Her interest in writing, however, seems to be circumstantial rather than influenced by the artistic environment of her time. As a wife of a journalist who used to spend most of his day at work, to distract herself from indifference and loneliness, Mrs Radcliffe picked up the pen and began to write short stories, and later longer pieces, of her own (with the encouragement of her husband). 

Although the aforementioned talent of Ann Radcliffe is broadly known, apart from the details of her beginnings as an author, not much can be acknowledged regarding the writer's personal life. Not only did Radcliffe not strive to become a public persona; she was also a deeply enigmatic figure, keen on maintaining her privacy, to the point of desperately seeking seclusion. 

Due to the rather poor level of understanding mental conditions at the time, as well as numerous rumours steaming from the public's desire to learn more about the secretive Radcliffe, the author's sudden disappearance from the literary scene almost three decades before her death, provoked the widely believed assumption that she had fallen into insanity as a result of the nature and content of her own writing. 

No biographer was ever able to obtain the amount of information sufficient to either confirm or disprove such innuendos – one can only assume that it was Radcliffe's reserved personality that she chose to live in accordance with, meaning she would not continue her literary career (although generally stripped from fame and public appearances) as a result. The cause of her death cannot be asserted with certainty as well, albeit respiratory problems seem to be the option that is universally agreed upon.

Nevertheless, despite Ann Radcliffe's ambiguous persona, her literary work remains popular to this day, and attained universal acclaim (Radcliffe is regarded as one of the pioneers of her genre), influencing several later authors, not necessarily associated with Gothic fiction.

But what would make work like Radliffe's, so strongly linked with one particular style and narrative, able to fall into a different category? How did the creative versality manifest exactly? To learn the answer (and appreciate the writer's skills even more) one should analyse „The Italian”, Radliffe's second-to-last novel, published by the end of the 18th century. 

„The Italian” is usually regarded as a controversial position in the author's bibliography, as a result of a supposed anti-Catholic sentiment included on its pages. Whether such claim is true, is best left for the reader to decipher and judge; the setting and the subject matter of the novel, however, especially in the „Introduction” part, serve as a fine example of genre-fusion. 

While schools of criticism do not necessarily form a different literary genre, applying the thought usually related to one particular genre into another – where possible – can provide a deeper or disparate understanding of the topic. Such is the case with the discussed work of Ann Radcliffe, when it is being examined from a postcolonial perspective. 

The subject of the analysis is the „Introduction”, as it portrays the disparities in understanding certain behaviours by two separate cultures. 

As the title of the novel suggests, the story takes place in Italy, more specifically, in Santa Maria del Pianto church, in the second half of the 18th century (the timing, yet again, is set in the age of the highest popularity of the Gothic fiction, but also during the time of the British Empire being one of the world's greatest powers, and still governing the United States). 

In short, the fragment discusses the experience of English tourists visiting the church together with their Italian friend. While, obviously, Italy was not ruled by Great Britain, one can assume the choice of the location (whether conscious or not – despite the discussed example of literary diversity, „The Italian” is still considered to be Gothic fiction, and the reader can simply conclude that Italian architecture provided an appropriate setting for such story) was supposed to be a metaphor for the great influence of colonialism; even those not affected by it in a traditional sense, can still experience its authority. 

The postcolonial perspective can first be applied when the travellers spot a figure they believe is extraordinary for the place (the church belongs to a convent):

„Within the shade of the portico, a person with folded arms, and eyes directed towards the ground, was pacing behind the pillars the whole extent of the pavement, and was apparently so engaged by his own thoughts, as not to observe that strangers were approaching. He turned, however, suddenly, as if startled by the sound of steps, and then, without further pausing, glided to a door that opened into the church, and disappeared.”

A monk the group encounters a while later calmly explains that the person they have seen is an assassin. 

The Englishmen have trouble believing so and do not understand how a criminal is able not only to not be locked up in jail, but also that the monk is not troubled by such situation, and, in fact, seems to be content with it.

Such surprise does not show disparities in morality between the tourists and the monk (the Italian man travelling with the English is also not startled by the presence of the assassin), as they both agree that he is a criminal. However, while the tourists show indignation at the fact he is allowed to live with the convent, the locals explain their perspective.

No one can be harmed inside the church, and – as they saw the assassin as a human first, and as a criminal later – they provided him with the shelter he was looking for. The Italians are shocked the English when they explain that the criminal is provided with food. While one can agree with the tourists at this point, especially after learning that the monks feed the man because of the seemingly ridiculous assumption that the city would die out otherwise, since the assassinations are so frequent, such attitude represents the locals' beliefs. 

The situation can be perceived by the reader as a symbol for how the colonised societies are generally made to follow a justice code that is not easily understood and foreign to them. It also portrays the metaphorical colonists as those who abide justice, and the colonised as the people that are guided by their feelings and beliefs.

The Englishmen are then left speechless, and their Italian friend steers their attention to a different part of the building:

„'But observe yonder confessional,’ added the Italian, ‘that beyond the pillars on the left of the aisle, below a painted window. Have you discovered it? The colours of the glass throw, instead of light, a shade over that part of the church, which, perhaps, prevents your distinguishing what I mean!'”

The tourists study the confessional in silence for a moment, but when they finally speak up, they seem to come back to the previous discussion.

They notice that the door reminds them of those the assassination passed through earlier. The entire place also supposedly looks so scary that it would undoubtedly frighten any criminal. 

Therefore, yet another analogy between real colonialism and the fictional story can be drawn. 

There colonised places can be, undeniably, interesting, charming the foreign visitors with their initially mysterious and ambiguous nature; they can also serve a specific purpose, important for the locals (just like a confessional is where a confession takes place). The colonialists, however, appear to fail to acknowledge the characteristics of the land for what they are, and instead compare them to what they know from their homeland. As much as such reaction can be understandable (seeking comfort in what is known), what is suggested in the text („‘Well, but what of this confessional?’ enquired the Englishman. ‘The assassin entered it!’”) is the Englishmen' immediate negative reaction to the novelty. This, yet again, symbolises that, in the mind of the colonisers, the role of law – the law that they practise – is what dictates their views on the surroundings.

Finally, the Italian yet again tries to draw his friends' attention to the confessional itself. He reveals that it has not been used in a few years, but that he would like to share a story about it and certain „extraordinary circumstances” connected to it. 

The group agrees, but one of the tourists mentions that, for what he knows, the confession should always remain a secret between the believer and the priest. The Italian agrees, but indicates that there are cases in which what has been said can be revealed and that, when he shares the story, no one will be surprised or irked by this fact. 

The similarity that can be drawn between actual colonisers and the characters in the story is, as in the previously mentioned cases, that the division that emerges is connected to the original set of beliefs of both parties, although this time the colonisers are surprised at the advancement that the locals have made. It should be noted that in the story, the Englishmen are not eager to object or refuse to learn whatever their friend wants to share – they simply note that, according to them, such secrets should not be revealed, but are open to discovering the circumstances in which the rule does not apply. In reality, the colonised also did possess things, usually material, like fabrics and spices, that the „guests” find valuable or interesting, and were willing to learn more about them.

To summarize, the skills and literary talent of Ann Radcliffe allowed her to create a novel that undeniably belongs to the world of Gothic literature, yet its specific parts, when analysed separately, create an excess of diverse meanings and ways in which the work can be understood. Nowadays, when the ear of classically understood imperialism has come to an end, the initial part of „The Italian” provides the reader with an opportunity to understand the issue first hand – as written about by a person who lived in the times of interest. 

Certainly, postcolonial criticism is only one of the ways in which the novel can be deconstructed and explained. It might be, however, one of the most interesting and intriguing interpretations, thanks to the visible division between „us” and „them” and the time of setting, as well as the original creation. 

New historicism [definition, historiography]

1. The "new":

New historicism includes the surroundings of the author, the influences they might have been subjected to in its focus, instead of dealing only with the content of the work, the data included in it which is characteristic to the traditional approach. The personal opinion of the critic does not need to be omitted.

2. Analysing literary works from such perspective:

The literary work should be criticized and studied not as a single entity, but the analysis requires taking into consideration the author themselves (their personality, beliefs, personal history), as well as the influence of the environment on the creation of the literary work, and the critic's subjective view.

3. Literature and historiography

Historiography studies the methods various historians used to describe historical events in their work - this might be done for the purpose of discovering different perspectives, and revealing how and whether the accounts change due to time frame, the author's origins, etc. Therefore, a part of historiography - works of literature describing historical events - is interchangeably included in literature itself, and can be interpreted and analysed from a chosen literary perspective. 

Reader-response theory [definition, explanation]

Reader-response theory differs from the "standard" view on a literary work in such a way that it changes the way one should look for the intended meaning. Whereas it is often implied that a work of literature conveys a specific message or implication regardless of the reader's reaction to it, Iser argues that - when looking for the actual implication - the focus should be put not on the work itself, but on the reader.
Therefore, such approach conveys the idea that the reader is not just a mere consumer of the text, but rather plays a significant role in it becoming truly complete. According to Iser, reading is more than just familiarizing oneself with the literary work in order to decipher its objective, but instead should be understood as a conscious way of creating the meaning. Although reader-response theory does not deny the existence of the author's indented concept, it encourages attributing the factual meaning to the reader's subjective opinion and interpretation. Such method then allows creating numerous perspectives on and explanations of the same text, thus clarifying the concept of "completing" it - while it might be complete in its physical form, it is the reader's personal interpretation that is the actual, final part of concluding the literary work.

Exemplary summary

Satrapi's work was first recognised in the US in 2003 - first as a series of articles, then as a full bok - and praised as a didactic statement of a middle-eastern woman who experienced the atrocities of war and prejudice first hand. "Persepolis", however, is not an ordinary book not only because of its content; a huge part of the story is expressed by drawings, which places it among the various categories of graphic novels. The author herself can also be categorised as distinctive. Defying the stereotype of an Iranian female, Satrapi reveals her background as a double graduatee (in Iran and in France), fluent in several languages, who comes from a fairly liberal family. Yet, despite her skills, it was not until she met a colleague whose work encouraged her not only to translate her memories and stances into a material form but also to abandon the notion of autobiography as a plain text riddled by dates. Satrapi's persistence and creativity, however, can not be diminished in any way, as "Persepolis" was first released without any promotion or any similar assistance from the publisher; it was the merit of her work that touched its readers that the work was solely popularised by the word of mouth. The non-conventional seems to be a returning theme in Satrapi's life - both as a human being and as an artist. It is only fair to describe what the reader can expect from the book itself as falling into the line. The simplicity of the graphic aspect of "Persepolis" remains in contrast with its written content, filled with a raw description of the Iranian Revolution and unrestrained channelling of emotions and personal struggles. And the biggest surprise of all? The book is unavailable for its potential readers in Iran due to the unpolished and uncensored depictions of the powers governing the Iranian society - the only translation into Farsi has never been authorised, and can only be obtained illegally.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Jane Avril

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec knew how to use his genius and characteristic style of drawing not only to draw attention to himself, but also to commemorate others - especially his muse, Jane Avril.
Born Jeanne Beaudon, the dancer grew up under the care of her abusive mother (she never learnt the true identity of her father); the mistreatment lead to the development of neurological problems in Avril. However, her stay in the Salpêtrière clinic helped the young patient discover her talent and passion for dancing.
As a professional, Jane Avril was appreciated by various representatives of the Symbolist movement in poetry, but it was Arsène Alexandre, a French art critic, who noticed her unconventional relationship with Toulouse-Lautrec.
The painter's acknowledgement of Avril benefited both artists: after unsuccessful beginnings, Lautrec became a well-known poster artist, and the beauty and eye-catching charm of the dancer was captured not only for the late 19th century Parisians, but also the whole world.
Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that Lautrec's paintings of Avril differ considerably from his posters: the latter depict a "graceful, light, a little mad, pale" woman, as Alexandre notes, while the former detail a pensive and older figure. The way the dancer was portrayed on the canvas helped establish her persona as an independent and self-sufficient woman, whose grace can still be regarded today.

What role does creativity play in modern education? [short example essay]

Creativity plays a huge role in the modern education process. Whether it is teachers choosing unorthodox methods of sharing their knowledge, or pupils trying unconventional ways of acquiring information, an innovative approach is always beneficial.
To begin with, state-of-the-art technology provides teachers and lecturers with an opportunity to educate young people in a more creative and engaging way. A monotone and repetitive talk can be replaced with watching a topic-related film or browsing the Internet together in order to find the desired information; such activities are, undoubtedly, present in every student's day-to-day life and will transform their academic experienced into a pleasantly spent time, instead of a dull necessity.
Yet, it is not just teachers that can use creativity to improve the quality of the class. Thinking "outside of the box" is certain to make an individual presentation or a group project more enjoyable - both for the teacher and the classmates - and have an impact on the final grade. Possibly, it can even draw the pupils' attention to certain topics and issues, therefore broadening their knowledge even more.
Finally, creativity proves to be helpful not only during the class, but also when studying at home. Homework does not necessarily mean hours spent reading textbooks - a person that is not afraid to use their imagination can surely find numerous ways of looking for the needed information that usually are less time-consuming and might provide them with even more valuable knowledge.
The modern world creates various opportunities for those that desire to learn or share what they already know, if only one is willing to try a different, previously unavailable approach, certain to improve one's academic performance.

What role does music play in life? [short example essay]

Just as there are many different genres of music, this branch of the arts might also serve various purposes. From helping a person achieve a well-deserved rest to becoming a valuable source of income, music provides numerous ways for it to be enjoyed.
First of all, listening to music can be relaxing or help one calm down - there are many songs and albums created specifically for this purpose. The biggest advantage of such a way of resting is that there is usually no need to take any medicaments to alleviate the stress it is important to remember, however, that if painkillers or other drugs have been prescribed, they should always be taken.
Additionally, music provides an opportunity for a person to be met with a cathartic experience. It might seem similar to relaxing, but requires one's own effort - creating lyrics and songs - rather than simply listening to other artists. It is a fine method of confronting negative emotions that prevents one from upsetting others or harming oneself.
Lastly, as music is highly commercialised these days, composing one's own pieces might not only help cope with personal struggles, but also become a way of making money. Surely, not every musician is talented (or lucky) enough to sell millions of records worldwide, but it should not discourage anyone from trying to advertise their own creations the alternative scene is also popular, especially among the young, and can provide a chance for wider recognition.
Beyond any doubt, music serves numerous purposes, and can be used as a means of improving a person's well-being - both psychological and economic - without unnecessary medical or other external intervence.

The role of creativity in a person's life [short example essay]

Usually associated with ar or innovative inventions, creativity can also come in handy in day-to-day life. This particular trait can definitely help one in a variety of circumstances, from improving work performance to discovering uncomplicated methods of self-help.
Many people, especially those who have struggled to find their current job, are afraid of losing the position, and thus do not consider taking any risks or carrying out their ideas of how to increase their chances of promotion. While such an attitude is understandable, not taking advantage of whatever capabilities a person might have - in this case, creativity - is sure to prevent them from progressing, which can have a negative influence on both their career and mental well-being.
Alarming and potentially dangerous consequences of numerous situations can also be alleviated by an original approach. From actions as simple as figuring out how to open a tightly sealed jar to evading a car crash, one should always consider imagination an important resource.
Finally, a person who feels sad and distressed can easily count on their creativity to help them break out of their bitter mood. Obviously, one should always seek professional help if it is needed, but it is important to remember that something almost effortless - like a new hair colour - can make a day better.
The work "resourcefulness" might have negative connotations, but when used to describe the simple ways of advancing the quality of someone's daily life, nobody should refrain from using their creativity to benefit themselves or others.

Is studying history a waste of time? [short example essay]

Nowadays, people - especially the young - are so focused on their day-to-day life and concerned with their future that they minimalise the importance of the past, thus not paying much attention to history lesson. Such an approach, however, is likely to prevent one from acquiring valuable knowledge, affecting both one's academic and personal chances of success.
It is often said that whoever does not know history is sure to repeat humanity's past mistakes. the belief appears to be true, as the world is continuously troubled with military conflicts, as well as social and economic issues; the reasons for said disturbances, more often than not, happen to be very similar to those that sparked past conflicts.
Studying history can also be very helpful if a person desires a stable job or a fruitful career path. Positions such as an archaeologist or a politician are usually well-paid and respected, but unattainable without a higher level of historical knowledge.
Last but not least, past events have made every person who they are today - this tendency is especially visible in regions that have been damaged by wars or troubled by various other conflicts. Familiarising oneself with the origins of such situations can become a valuable asset on one's path to self-discovery.
Being preoccupied with living in the moment should never be an obstacle on a person's path of rediscovering the past. What has already happened can undeniably happen again, and whoever is familiar with history can certainly use it to their advantage.

What can be learnt from studying literature [short example essay]

Literature, like many of the subjects that form a part of the liberal arts, cannot be thoroughly defined or subjected to strict rules, due to the variety of material and subjective interpretations. Such freedom, however, does not make studying literature chaotic, but rather creates many different possibilities of acquiring valuable skills and helpful habits.
Firstly, literature classes can help students learn historical facts by introducing them to the chosen creators. A large number of poets and writers, especially those living during the times of war and unrest, were involved in politics, serving in the army, or simply encouraging civilians to fight through their literary work; some of them, like the famous Polish poet Krzysztof Baczyński, became significant historical figures.
Secondly, studying various literary texts allows one to learn the vocabulary they would not otherwise encounter during their daily reading activities, such as opening a newspaper or checking social media profiles. Literature classes include pieces of work comprising of rich and sublime vocabulary that can undoubtedly improve the student's academic performance.
Finally, familiarising oneself with literature enables a person to learn the correct way of creating texts. By observing the structure and other core features of a literary piece, one can more easily create one's own work, as well as avoid common mistakes and misconceptions.
To sum up, studying literature proves to be beneficial for those involved in it - from helping deepen historical knowledge to allowing students to become more fluent in a given language, literature is definitely a subject one will not waste one's time on.

Activism [women in social media - part 3]

 Previous two chapters described unquestionably negative factors contributing to a female celebrity's online experience related to social media. It it important to notice that the ordeal was also involuntarily; an unforeseen consequence of seemingly innocuous actions, rooten in the trust put into leading Internet companies, and, obviously, other users.
        Among the undeniably adverse occurrences, it is, however, necessary to remember that famous American women are not fated to encounter problems every time they log into their accounts; social media, above all, provide an opportunity not only to defend oneself and respond to criticism and comments about sudden vulnerability, but also to take a stand against it, as well as other forms of mistreatment experienced by the victim, and others.        
        Moreover, besides expressing internal, personal feelings, social media allows users to share concepts and ideas they support with a large and usually diverse audience.
The term “activism” might bring to mind taking literal physical action and steps towards reaching a chosen goal or drawing a wider attention to a situation or a problem. Examples of such processes involving or centering around women can be traced – most noticeably – from past decades (suffragettes being probably the most recognisable one) to the present day (Iranian women publicly opposing mandatory veiling in hopes to regain the right to present themselves in accordance with their beliefs and will).       
        Even though those movements, among others, were, and still are, widely discussed and popularised through the Internet and, ipso facto, social media, they did not specifically start within the online community. In his book, Tweets and The Streets. Social Media and Contemporary Activism, Paolo Gerbaudo (2012) informs the reader that online activism is not as foreign and unfamiliar of an occurrence as it might seem.
“Where self-managed activist internet services like Indymedia and activist mailing lists were the media of choice of the anti-globalisation movement, contemporary activists are instead shamelessly appropriating corporate social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Commenting on this enthusiastic adoption of social media, pundits and journalists have readily resorted to expressions like ‘the Facebook revolution’ or ‘the Twitter revolution’.” (p. 2)

As with many popular movements, online activism gets divided into categories and manifests itself within different realms of focus. The types of activism described in this chapter are going to be divided into two categories: societal issues and political activism.
        Aforementioned mandatory veiling can be considered related to the first category, however it is associated with a law upheld in a Middle Eastern country. In Women and Politics in Iran: Veiling, Unveiling, and Reveiling, Hamideh Seghdi (2007) details the coercion to the reader:
“From the outset, unveiled women became a social anathema but veiled women acquired revolutionary credentials. Extolling the concealed women, women's bodies were ordered to be disguised like “pearls protected inside a shell”, as street murals conveyed and communicate today. Veiling guarded Islam, but significantly, it hid women's sexual power/energy from eliciting public disorder by distracting and arousing men sexually.” (p. 211)

Taking cultural differences into account, one might wonder what decree or societal norm western women, especially those who are famous, might struggle or have issues with? From being the first to be granted the right to vote, to being in a complete control over their lives and choices (which, sadly, still cannot be attributed to women and girls in numerous contemporary societies), the lives of the female part of the populations of North America and Europe appear desirable and praiseworthy.
        However, behind the facade of liberty, there are various concerns and questions, still unanswered, that shatter the seemingly perfect notion of such life, and, by the fact itself, motivate female celebrities to try to have a say in discussions and debates about a certain commotion.
        In the early seventies the Supreme Court in the United States decided that providing an access to abortion as well as the procedure itself would no longer be treated as a criminal offence. The infamous case is known as “Roe vs Wade”, as those were the name and the alias of the opposing sides that took part in the case.  Since the legal settlement American abortion clinics have been providing approximately 300000 terminations every year. In their book, Abortion Politics: Public Policy in Cross-Cultural Perspective, Marianne Githens and Dorothy Stetson (1996) describe the long-lasting effect of the case:

“(...) In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled in the case Roe vs. Wade that abortion fell within a woman's zone of privacy and struck down a restrictive Georgia abortion law in the companion case Doe vs. Bolton, the right to obtain an abortion has continued to be hotly debated (…). The case for an against abortion is regularly made in homes, in churches, in the media, and in legislatures across the country.” (p. 7)

Abortion and access to contraceptives (often called “reproductive rights”) for many seem to be a big part of western women's liberation. Even though the concept of a woman's right to choose her own way of living is mostly seen as positive, the meaning of liberation varies. Just as the accessibility of medical procedures mentioned above might be seen as an improvement on women's life, there are those – also females – that bear a different perspective.
        One of the most influential pro-life advocates is a famous California-born journalist Lila Rose. As Marsha Vanderford (1989) explains in Vilification and Social Movements: A case study of pro‐life and pro‐choice rhetoric, the term “pro-life” (as opposed to “pro-choice”) is a name given to a person or organisation that disagrees with abortion, as well as any other form of ending a human life by another person. They also support adoption and promote taking care of the elderly, both of which are alternatives to terminating pregnancies and providing an access to euthanasia for people who are close to their natural passing or death caused by severe or terminal illnesses. Interestingly, in her book, the author also mentions the abundance of pro-choice personalities in media, therefore making the case for activists like Lila Rose:

“Patterns (...) delineated powerful individuals in media, business, and politics as pro-choice supporters. Media executives were consistently linked to pro-choice action.” (p. 171)

Rose, on her website, describes herself as: “a speaker, writer and human rights activist. Lila founded and serves as president of Live Action, a media and news nonprofit dedicated to ending abortion and inspiring a culture that respects all human life.”
        Besides more traditional form of online presence, like websites, Rose uses several social media platforms that help the advocate spread her message.
        Similarly to Facebook, Twitter does not only allow its users to share content and comment on it in a conventional form. Adding the commentary directly above the shared post is a popular feature which allows the user's remark to be seen by everyone, not just those who directly open the comment section. Rose seems to use this function a lot in order to target a larger audience.
        The Twitter posts quoted below come from the activist's account (@LilaGraceRose) and are written in a form of the described reply.

"Since 2015, at least 16 babies were born alive in Florida after failed abortion attempts. We don't know what happened to these little ones. Were they given sufficient medical care to survive? Will we ever get to hear their stories?" as a response to "Over the past few years, according to online reports, there have been 16 abortion survivors born after abortion attempts in the state of Florida."

"Thank you, Nebraska @GovRicketts for ending federal funding to Planned Parenthood through Title X. Planned Parenthood is the largest recipient of Title X funding, and every dollar frees the abortion giant up to pay staff and lobby for more tax dollars." as a response to "Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a budget Wednesday that will eliminate federal family-planning funding to Planned Parenthood of the Heartland."

"Your [Planned Parenthood] abortionists violently tore apart 900 children today, some of them old enough to survive outside the womb. All were helpless.
You took money from parents who were scared and struggling and sold violence and death as a solution to their struggles." as a response to "Everyone has the right to lead a life that is healthy & free from violence (...)"

The tweets, obviously, give the reader and users an insight into the author's view, but, simultaneously, help them understand how social media has alleviated a woman's ability of signalling ideas and engaging in discussion.
        Even though a female celebrity might already have a degree of recognition and capability to use long-established means of sharing her opinions (interviews, authoring a book), a direct message with an option of an easy engagement in conversation creates a sense of ability – and, in many cases, the ability itself – to actually take part in a case one is interested in supporting or debating. Davidson (2008)  details the importance of such opportunity:

“Managers and leaders routinely use a variety of techniques, such as encouraging informal social interaction and creating and maintaining strong organizational to help people feel a part of the whole organization (Schein, 1985). One's sense of feeling included is most crucial because it strengthens affective commitment to the organization.” (p. 172)

Societal issues – abortion and adoption being not only not an exception, but a popular and returning points – are thoroughly linked to politics. On the other hand, they rarely stem out of it, however, an issue discussed publicly by a politician or a party might start a nationwide debate, involving, besides ordinary voters', the opinions of those with an already established fanbase and following.
        The 2016 American presidential election seems to be a good example of such involvement.
        One might safely assume that the fact that Hillary Rodham Clinton became one of two main candidates in the race to the White House greatly encouraged female celebrities to start social media based political commentary. Since the wife of the former president, Bill Clinton, had the chance to become the first female to take the office, numerous famous women used their Internet platforms to show their encouragement.
        However, similarly to the previously discussed issue related to abortion, there were also those who disapproved of Clinton's candidacy. The opponents did not hesitate to detail their stance by using social media accounts as well, and – what was easily predictable – both sides drafted a wide attention for their activity, which resulted in a great number of favourable, but also, what seemed inevitable, critical comments.
        It is important to remember that the purpose of this chapter is to present the famous American woman's availability to debate political turmoil (that had an impact on them as citizens) that presidential elections usually bring, and analyze the experience. The examples and quotations presented below do not ai at judging the person's position or opinion, but are supposed to illustrate and provide details of said online environment.
        During the presidential campaign in 2016, Katy Perry (full name Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson) – one of the best selling American pop artists worldwide - became a prominent and dedicated supporter of Clinton. Among various public ventures, notably designing shoes named after the candidate and dedicating one of the songs on her album Witness to the loss of the supported Democrat, Perry used her Twitter account, which is currently followed by over 100 users, to show her approval for Clinton. By adding a popular hashtags created by other supporters, she announced:

“YOU GOT THIS @HillaryClinton #DEBATES”

"She's smiling with ease cause #shesgotthis #ImWithHer #debatenight"

"RT if you're already preparing a seat at the table for @HillaryClinton"

As mentioned above, despite the tweets being targeted mainly at the singer's fans and the followers of the Democratic candidate, Perry also faced criticism for her posts. Under the article of the writer Jerome Hudson (Katy Perry Begs Democratic National Convention To Vote For Hillary Clinton), working for the political news site Breitbart, they commentators demonstrated their contempt for the woman's plea and actions. The author of the most popular (given the most votes by other readers) comment claims:

“(...) EMPTY mind, you vapid c_nt. Empty, not open. Make an IQ of at least 110 a prerequisite for voting rights, and all America's problems will be gone. Make it a requirement for performing in public, and we'll never hear from Katy Perry again.”

The statement clearly indicates the person's derogatory attitude towards the woman in relation to her gender (“vapid c_nt”), as well as doubt in her mental abilities, calling her mind “empty”. Even though it is unknown whether Perry saw the comment, it is safe to assume that she must have been aware of the opinion others have of her for supporting the chosen candidate, since the post, as previously mentioned, gained a big applause of the readers of the article.
        Nevertheless, since there were two candidates hoping to become the resident of The White House, both of them gathered supporters amongst the famous.
        Keeping in mind the point made earlier – that Hillary Clinton could have become the first female president of The United States – it seemed that she was the one to have the majority of female celebrities as allies. Scholars Bremner, Soufer, McCarthy, Delaney, Staib, Duncan, and Charney (2001) support the theory in their article, Gender Differences In Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Remembrance of Emotional Words:

"Studies suggest that men and women have important differences in specific cognitive functions. (...) women rely on emotional content to a greater degree in the processing of information." (p. 56)

The emotional aspect of having a representative of their gender among American leaders was undoubtedly an important factor that lead many female celebrities to show Hillary Clinton their appreciation. Nonetheless, her rival, Donald John Trump, managed to attract various popular names as well.
        Kaya Jones (real name Chrystal Neria), a singer raised in Nevada, who was once performing with a popular all-girl music group The Pussycat Dolls, did not conceal her support for the Republican candidate. Similarly to Perry, Jones decided that Twitter would help her spread her opinion and approval:

"I want to show other celebrities who voted for @realDonaldTrump it’s ok to come forward. Better yet let’s show the world how many Americans stand with him. Bullies shouldn’t be allowed for almost a year and a half to bully us without cause. If you voted for him just Like or RT"

She even used a hashtag invented by Trump's opponents to show her support:

"Trump that’s who. Himself even more fabulous #CouldBeatTrumpIn2020"

The statements received a negative feedback as well. In an interview with Willie Pena, as an answer to the question about being criticized for openly supporting the candidate, the woman admitted: “Yes. I've received death threats.”
        Jones, however, is not the only famous ally of Donald Trump. Blaire White, a political commentator with a following of almost 400 thousands users on her YouTube channel, admitted to voting Republican in the 2016 election. White is usually considered as phenomenon, since transsexuals have always been associated with the opposite side of the political spectrum, a theory that is backed in Rawyn Connell's (2012) Transsexual Women and Feminist Thought: Toward New Understanding and New Politics:

"The political meaning of transsexuality began to be negotiated in the US New Left (...). Several small, radical transsexual/transvestite groups formed, and they issued a manifesto calling for social justice." (p. 4)

White shares her experience from the point of view of a trans female who has publicly voiced her approval of the candidate. Marie Solis adduces White's interview with Newsweek, where the YouTuber describes a physical assault she has endured:

"I have never been assaulted for being trans. I’ve never had anyone on the street say anything nasty to me about being trans. But I was assaulted for wearing a Trump hat. I think that speaks for itself."

Although such reaction to someone expressing their political leaning might seem exaggerated, Henrik Urdal reminds that, surprisingly, it is to be expected in countries like The United States: "The opportunity literature suggests that the opportunity for political violence is greater the less autocratic a state is (…)" (p. 613)
        In summary, the chapter described a new opportunity for famous women not only to join a discussion, usually related to a popular or controversial topics, but also to spread their message and opinions more easily. Despite already having an audience, social media allows a celebrity to engage with followers and commentators in a way that is quick and gives the impression (and, obviously, the real experience) of having an impact on The United States and the world's current struggles and events.

Hacking [women in social media - part 2]

Identity theft is only one of many misconducts that, with the popularization of the Internet, started to occur online. Though similar, as it involves stealing personal data, the purpose of hacking differentiates from creating a fake persona. In her article, Why Do People Hack?, Carol Finch describes various reasons for such activity, one of them being especially relevant in cases of the famous being the victims:
“Some hackers use their skills for criminal activities. On a personal level, a hacker might break into someone's computer and take control of it -- this could give him access to passwords and financial information that he could then use to defraud the individual. On a larger scale, groups of hackers might target companies as part of a wider criminal operation. For example, in 2014, a group of Russian hackers accessed systems in various companies around the world and stole over 1 billion usernames and passwords from over 400,000 websites.” (Finch, 2015)
       
The vulnerability of well-known American women to being targeted by illegal hacking  to can be illustrated by the example of Celebgate, a 2014 controversy, where numerous female celebrities fell victim to an organized picture leak.In the summer of 2014, users of a popular image board-type forum, 4chan, began publishing personal, mostly nude, pictures of female celebrities. As it became obvious that the images had not been previously shared by the people depicted on them, the situation was understood to be a leak, either coincidental or intentional.
        Eventually, it turned out that the published pictures had been deliberately stolen. An online cloud service, iCloud (a part of Apple Inc.), was found to be the “culprit”; the later investigation revealed that the hackers exploited the service's insufficient security measures which allowed them to guess any user's password, thus gaining access to the stored data. The even had been given the name “Celebgate”, an obvious implication to The Watergate scandal; the idea originated from the people responsible for the leak.
Celebgate, as an example of an invasion on famous women's privacy, can be examined in various aspects, including, inter alia, the motive of the hackers, and legal consequences of such misdemeanor. The description of the original actions of the individuals accountable for Celebgate should help one correctly discern the subsequent events, as well as the case itself.
        The person officially charged with illegally obtaining the pictures was Ryan Collins, a Pennsylvania resident, whose methods are described in detail in an article published two years after the incident by U.S. Attorney's Office in California:

“He sent e-mails to victims that appeared to be from Apple or Google and asked victims to provide their usernames and passwords. When the victims responded, Collins then had access to the victims’ e-mail accounts. After illegally accessing the e-mail accounts, Collins obtained personal information including nude photographs and videos, according to his plea agreement. In some instances, Collins would use a software program to download the entire contents of the victims’ Apple iCloud backups.”

Apple itself provided an explanation as to why individuals other than those contacted by Collins beforehand were also subjected to the hacking, shedding a light on the technical side of the problem:
“After more than 40 hours of investigation, we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet. None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud® or Find my iPhone.”
        The characterization of the process raises two substantial issues: the aforementioned mistakes in security precautions taken by the creators of Apple's storage system, and the seemingly effortless practice – involving the victims' participation - that let Collins collect the information necessary to temporarily take control of the accounts he was interested in. The first point, being a technical issue disrupting the usage of a product, is distinctly connected to the legal proceedings resulting from the incident, while the second has a psychological and societal basis.
        Using Apple's - an international, well-known company - products, rarely raises concerns in a user, as a business this size appears to have gained trust of many. A customer, in many cases rightfully so, does not suspect such corporation to have problems securing the  content stored by the user, let alone allowing a third party to view and copy it, unbeknownst to the owner.
        In their research, Xin Li, Traci Hess, and Joseph Valacich (2008) provide an explanation as to why users remain unsuspecting of any technical issues:
“When the trustor has no prior interaction with a trustee, he/she cannot develop trust based on direct experience with or first-hand knowledge of the trustee. Instead, the trustor will depend on other sources, such as second-hand information, contextual factors, or personal intuition to make trust inferences. For example, before having direct interaction with an information system in a specific context, a trustor can build initial trust in this system based on their experiences with other systems, their knowledge about this system used in other contexts, and/or others’ opinions about the system.” (p. 41)

        Such prevalent and understandable conviction seems to be one of the aforementioned factors -  that are rooted in societal beliefs - which made an incident like Celebgate possible. Yet, it is not just the victims of the leak who were afflicted by Apple's mistakes; Collins, after discovering the security loophole, had decided to use it to his own advantage.
        In an interview with Marlow Stern, one of the victims, actress Teresa Palmer describes her experience and attitude towards the leak, as well as a specific connection between her gender and falling prey to Collins:
“It was difficult,” says Palmer. “It certainly was such an invasion of privacy, but also scary on a universal level that nobody’s stuff is safe. Thank god for me I didn’t really have anything too risqué, but it’s really scary to know that I have so many photos of my son, my birth video, all of my stuff that I know is in the hands of someone that’s hacked into my computer.” (…) “You know what’s so unfortunate?” Palmer says. “All the women got together and talked it out. We all had photos of boyfriends—some are famous, some are not—who are naked, and none of the photos of famous men were ever released. It was all women. So, it was a personal attack on women, and trying to shame women. I just think it’s disgusting that there were no men—I think there was only one male victim—so women were specifically targeted.”

It is important to pay attention to how Palmer reacts to the idea of being vulnerable to having private data published against her will: she calls it “scary”, which supports the claim that companies like Apple have the reputation of being trusted providers of expected services.
        Interestingly, the actress' ordeal mirrors another famous' woman struggle with her image being used against her will. In the further part of the quote, Teresa Palmer stresses that it was not just pictures of her that were exposed to Collins; stored were also images of her son, which, though not illicitly published, were also viewed by an unapproved party. This claim resembles what Aimee Gonzales, the victim of catfishing, admitted happened to her children when Angela Wesselman decided to impersonate her online – even though the minors' identities were not stolen in the same way as their mother's was, they were also indirectly involved in the process. This instance yet again demonstrates how a child can suffer collateral consequences, however small, of the actions of those who decide to target the mother, whether to fulfill their personal agenda (Wesselman), or to induce a controversy, as in Collins' case, causing troubles for both the victims and the provider of the service.
        The last part of the quote, in which Palmer mentions even more people concerned, gives one an insight into the hacker's mind and motive, as from the perspective of a person affected. According to the actress' statement, the women whose accounts were hacked, also kept saved private pictures of their male partners, whose depictions were similar to those of the victims. Nonetheless, none of the pictures were leaked. Palmer understands this as an example of a perpetrator specifically targeting women in order to put them in a situation that might expose them to ridicule and humiliation. She does not, however, fully explain her logic as to why she believes so. Roxanne Gay, a writer for The Guardian, in an article related to the Celebgate, provides what Palmer failed to in her interview. According to Gay:

“It’s not clear what the people who leak these photos hope to achieve beyond financial gain and a moment of notoriety. (...) These hackers are not revealing anything the general public does not already know. BREAKING: beneath their clothes, celebrities are naked. What these people are doing is reminding women that, no matter who they are, they are still women. They are forever vulnerable.”

Teresa Palmer concludes her talk with Stern with a clear statement:

“I’ll be in the bath with my son and my husband will take a picture of us. I’ve just given over to the fact that, ‘You know what? This may end up on the Internet' (...) I think I have a pretty healthy perspective on it, but I know some of the other girls were really traumatized by it.”

        Unfortunately but obviously, not all victims eventually reacted to the leak with such confidence. One of them was a popular actress, Jennifer Lawrence. In an article for Vogue, Ellie Davis reminds the reader what are Lawrence thoughts on being targeted by Collins:

“When I first found out it was happening, my security reached out to me. It was happening minute-to-minute - it was almost like a ransom situation where they were releasing new ones every hour or so,” (…) I feel like I got gang-banged by the f***ing planet - like, there's not one person in the world that is not capable of seeing these intimate photos of me. You can just be at a barbecue and somebody can just pull them up on their phone. That was a really impossible thing to process.” (Davis, 2017)

        The easiness of sharing the pictures, mentioned above by Lawrence, calls into question the issue of trust once again. This time, however, it can be described from the perspective of Collins. The hacker, besides his technological knowledge, has used persuasion to obtain any information necessary to access the pictures. Marian Friestad and Peter Wright (1999) describe the aim of the technique used by Collins. Their explanation might be linked to that of Li, Hess, and Valacich in an instance that the hacker used the well-known name of the company to convince the victims to provide him with desired information. In this case, however, the trust in security measurements was deliberately taken advantage of by a single person, and not just by the users' belief that Apple's precautions were sufficient. According to Friestad and Wright:

“Persuasion knowledge (...) is an especially important interpretive belief system because it tells people about situations where an intelligent purposeful outside agent is skillfully trying to alter their inner self (their beliefs, their emotions, their attitudes, their decisions, their thought processes) and thereby alter the course of their lives. (...) The resources that enable someone to competently manage the numerous influence attempts that other people direct their way are their personal persuasion related beliefs. Individuals who allow unnoticed or uncontrolled invasions of their internal psychological world, and consequent changes in their behaviors, do not survive and prosper.” (p. 186)

        The cases described above relate to a violation of privacy where a personal, private data, previously stored within websites that mainly provide related services, was involuntarily published on an image-board type page, consisting of anonymous posts and users. Both domains – iCloud and 4chan - however, are not widely understood to be a part of personalised, customisable social media profiles. Whereas, after discussing the origins and course of Celebgate, one can undoubtedly state that the leak has greatly contributed to how the victims perceive their online presence, and how it has affected not just their Internet activity, but also their sense of intimacy, the responses, reactions, and role of utilities like, amongst many others, Twitter and Facebook, cannot be omitted or underestimated.
        To support the claim of what constitutes social media in the first place, it is apt to familiarise oneself with how Thomas Poell (2013) defines it:

“Social media can be roughly referred to as a "group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of the Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content" ([20], p. 60) The quick rise of social media platforms in the first decade of this century was part of a more general networked culture where information and communication got increasingly defined by the affordances of web technologies such as browsers and search engines. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn as well as user generated content sites, including YouTube and Flickr, became the core of a host of web-based applications that together formed an expansive ecosystem of connective media.” (p. 5)

The “quick exchange of user-generated context” can be understood as crucial in describing a female celebrity's experience. Since social media allow users to easily portray themselves in a desired way by sharing text, pictures, and various other types of data, it can also, paradoxically, enable others to depict the famous in any chosen way. Again, such actions bear a resemblance to catfishing; however, the aim differs from creating a fake online persona, as the content revealed during celebgate hack shares even more features with the phenomenon of “revenge porn”.
        Scott R. Stroud (2014), besides explaining what the foregoing term represents (revealing private materials, previously shared between consenting individuals, usually after their relationship has come to an end), specifies the incentives behind it:

"Posting revealing photos of non-consenting others along with identifying information potentially leads to humiliation, embarrassment, and could increase the potential for online and “real life” harassment. (...) This harm is enabled by the anonymity provided to the posters of this information, and those who run the sites that allow for such posting. As research on user-generated content for news sites has determined, anonymity often increases incivility and immoral behavior (Singer & Ashman, 2009)." (p. 9)

Clare McGlynn and Erika Rackley (2017) compare the phenomenon to sexual abuse:

"Advances in technology have transformed and expanded the ways in which sexual violence can be perpetrated. One of these new manifestations of violence and abuse is the non-consensual creation and/or distribution of private sexual images: a phenomenon we have conceptualised as image-based sexual abuse." (p. 1)

The issue of being anonymous, mentioned in the first quote, can undoubtedly be attributed to social media as well. Since it has already been discussed what triggers one to act accordingly in circumstances characteristic to the events surrounding Celebgate, it is essential to describe the consequences of the behaviour.
        The statements from Teresa Palmer and Jennifer Lawrence concern their feelings related to the hack itself, not their attitude to appearing on social media afterwards (although Palmer provides the reader with the idea on how she hopes to deal with the aftermath of Celebgate, she focuses on her daily life, simply revealing that she is now aware that any type of personal data might get stolen and uploaded online). While the two women are, undoubtedly, not the only ones that concentrated mainly on the fact of being subjected to Collins' shenanigans, and not the direct reactions of others, their way of coping with the trauma in the media should be considered to be as legitimate as the response of those who chose to publicly share their views on the engagement of Internet users and followers with the case, since methods of dealing with stress vary greatly according to one's personality and numerous psychological traits.
        The experience of another victim of Collins, actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, gives one a detailed insight into the struggle of online presence following the leak. Winstead used her Twitter account to voice her concerns and describe her attitude at that time:

"To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves."

"Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this."

"Going on an internet break. Feel free to my @s [mentions] for a glimpse of what it's like to be a woman who speaks up about anything on twitter"

These three simple messages (in 2014 Twitter's 140 characters limit still existed) thoroughly describe the actress' approach to the situation. She feels not only that her privacy and personal freedom have been violated but also does not understand why users are interested in content that was never intended to be viewed by third party. Winstead is also surprised with the effort put into looking for the photos even after most of the copies have been removed. Finally, she informs that she is not going to respond again, stating that the reaction to her posts is what a woman in a time of stress is likely to experience from her online following, and other users, curious about a given case.
        Bernie Hogan (2010), however, appears to have answered Winstead's question concerning the users motives to keep looking for the pictures: "To expect privacy online is not to imply that one has something worth hiding or a presentation that may contradict one’s role in other spheres of life" (p. 4). The author suggest that the interest was fueled by the actress' general image: in the opinion of the public, Winstead was never considered to be a person that would agree to appear in such pictures; such impression had probably been caused by the woman's public demeanor and the impression that occurred from it.
        While Winstead's reaction might have seem harsh and incited by anger, another actress afflicted with the hack took a less exasperated, however still firm approach. Yvonne Strahovski, whose career, similarly to Palmer, flourished in the US, chose Instagram to publish her statement:

“It is with great sadness and disappointment that I address this hacking issue. To my fellow actresses whose privacy has been invaded – my heart goes out to you. I'm so disappointed that there are people in the world who feel the need to commit these criminal acts. Some of these pictures are fake, my own included. Regardless – I ask you all – do not share the links. Don't even look at the photos. Just let people have the privacy they deserve. Integrity is sacred.”

The response, besides calling for respect and voicing Strahovski's attitude towards the person responsible for the leak, also suggests yet another issue the woman had to face: despite the pictures being fabricated, there was still the need to address the situation.
        Obviously, a person unfamiliar with photo processing might not have been able to recognize the pictures to be fake. This might be understood as beneficial, since the actress' privacy has not, in fact, been invaded. Nonetheless, even if Strahovski's plea not to distribute the links prevented a given number of people from seeing the pictures, those who have already viewed them were not certain to also see the discussed Instagram post, and therefore remain under the impression that they have come across a genuine depiction of the actress. In such case, the woman has not been hurt directly by having her privacy violated, but by false assumptions that lead to both reactions similar to those Winstead experienced, and having been wrongly accused.
        Carolyn Hole, Naomi-Ellen Speechley, and Ross Burnett warn of the severity of the described kind of situation:

"It is apparent that for those wrongly accused the effects are likely to be devastating(...) they may have a substantial impact. Some allegations (...) may still affect their subjects’ employment or standing in the community. Others may be aired in employment tribunals or family courts, and even when they are not substantiated, their consequences may be severe. (...) Significant damage may be done to alleged ‘perpetrators’ in circumstances where there has been no finding of guilt." (p. 4)

To conclude, violation of privacy in a form of illegally obtaining private data is yet another factor that a famous American woman's social media experience comprises of. Albeit similar to catfishing, its reach and effects are considerably greater, as events like Celebgate involve not just one person (or a small group of people) that is meant to be deceived, but the victim's online following, as well as a global audience, interested in the situation. Such leaks create a sense of doubt in security measurements of even the biggest Internet storage providers, which, along with the feeling of humiliation (especially when confronted with direct comments) and uncertainty (in many cases related to the fear of losing business opportunities and inability to pursue chosen career path), might make social media usage more of an ordeal, than a pleasant and work-facilitating activity.

Identity Theft [women in social media - part 1]

(Based on the movie "Catfish".)

Identity theft, according to Saounders and Zucker (2010), is usually associated with illegally obtaining one's personal data in order to use their credit card or bank account. Accordingly, it might also refer to collecting a person's ID to perform various actions (from buying adult beverages to taking a loan) in their name. Whereas such definitions are still the most commonly used and accurate, as technological advancement progresses, people have started to share their identity online.
        Blazka (2017) further links the concept to its traditional form by explaining legal consequences behind such activity:
“As online impersonations are a relatively new concept legally speaking, there are not always specific laws in place. Furthermore, with Section 33.07 of the Texas Penal Code under fire, it would be wise to consider whether existing laws, on either a state or federal level, might be positioned to provide relief. Each case being different, and the specific laws as written varying by jurisdiction, some of these legal theories might be seen as applying in the general sense.” (p. 37)
        Communities like Facebook require providing real name and surname in order to use it correctly, although Mark Zuckerberg's Internet giant is, as for now, in a minority, since most networks allow their users to pick a chosen nickname. If identity theft is understood in the sense described earlier, one might rightfully assume that users of Facebook are more prone to becoming the victim of such thievery. The more anonymous networks, however, even when the anonymity is limited only to a name, play a more significant role in faking or stealing identity online.
        To describe the reason why the users of aforementioned platforms are exposed to the danger of online identity theft in more detail, the phenomenon itself ought to be defined first. As Hancock (2009) describes it, “deception in the context of information and communication technology, or what I will call digital deception, which refers to the intentional control of information in a technologically mediated message to create a false belief in the receiver of the message.” (p. 3)
        Deliberate deception among social media users - commonly called “catfishing” - derives its name from Nev Schulman's documentary “Catfish”. In his film, the director depicts his relationship with Megan, a young woman he met online, who later turns out to be Angela Wessselman, a middle-aged mother who has been posing as Megan by using pictures of a model, Aimee Gonzales.
        Besides introducing the concept of catfishing to a larger audience, the film also illustrates the psychology behind the act. Schulman, eager to portray not only the motive of the catfish but also the feelings of the impersonated model, decides to additionally conduct an interview with Gonzales herself (who, at the beginning of their talk, has no idea that hundreds of her pictures have been used to fabricate a persona). Thanks to the director's efforts, the story in “Catfish”, as well as the interview with Aimee Gonzales, besides its educational aspect on the dangers of online relationships, also illustrates, even if not directly, the involved model's experience.
        Most social networks offer picture sharing as a basic method of establishing a user profile; yet, their targeted audience might vary. While services like Flickr allow professional photographers to share their work, Instagram – being currently one of the most popular online platforms in general – tends to focus on more amateur work. According to Hu, Manikonda, and Kambhampati (2004):

“Nearly half (46.6%) of the photos in our dataset belong to Selfies and Friends categories with slightly more self-portraits (24.2% vs. 22.4%). We also notice that Pet and Fashion are the least popular categories with less than 5% of the total number of images. This corroborates with some of the recent discoveries in popular news media. Other categories – Food, Gadget and Captioned photo contributes to more than 10% individually but are approximately same among themselves. This is in line with the conventional wisdom that Instagram is mostly used for self promoting and social networking with their friends.” (p. 597)

Gonzales, despite being a professional model, used the Internet to share amateur pictures as well. As revealed in the film, while the young woman's artistic work was what had drawn Wesselman's attention, the personal photographs were used to establish a network of fictional profiles – a step necessary to make Megan's identity seem genuine.
        Whilst discussing the catfish' methods, the questions might arise: why does one decide to steal someone else's identity to build a fabricated one online? How and why can a famous woman become a part of such forgery? To explain the reasons behind and causes of the first issue, it is necessary to understand the psyche and environment of Angela Wesselman. The film, especially the part after revealing the true identity of Megan, gives the viewer an insight into both of these factors, greatly helping to comprehend the concept of and logic behind catfishing.
        The main factor affecting those who decide to stage a fictitious online life appears to be low self-esteem. An issue that existed long before the era of social media, or even the World Wide Web itself, seems to have increased due to the availability of access to the Internet. As Niemz, Griffiths, and Banyard (2005) discuss in their study:

“If people have a low opinion of themselves and find it difficult to socialize because of their shyness or lack of self-esteem, they may use the Internet as an alternative form of socializing, in which they can open up and gain confidence without having to interact face to face. However, as it was mentioned earlier, the direction of the relationship is unclear, as a low self-esteem may be a consequence of excessive Internet use, rather than a cause.” (p 568)

In the film, the viewer is introduced to the real personality and life of Angela Wesselman. The middle-aged woman lives with her youngest daughter and second husband, Vince, in a small town in Michigan. The family's life revolves around Vince's two sons from his previous relationship – both of them are severely mentally handicapped and require continued medical care, and the parents' attention. Though Angela is fond of her step-sons and is the person responsible for fulfilling most of their needs, she expresses grief over her career as a painter that she has never had a chance to further pursue due to her commitment to Vince's children.
        In her limited spare time, she continues to paint (although does not have a platform or an ability to share her work with a wider audience), but also tries to find a way to the fruition of her fantasy of a life she has never managed to experience. She decides to create a Facebook profile, where she poses as her daughter, Abigail, shares her paintings as the girl's, and, finally, befriends Nev, the director of the film. As their friendship continues, Angela's lies – but also the relationship - become more complex. The woman sends Nev her original paintings (while still pretending they were Abigail's), and claims that the girl has her own gallery in Michigan.
        This part of Angela's continuing deception is well illustrated in the beginning of the provided explanation of how low self-esteem plays a role in online identity theft. By claiming to be Abigail, she can experience – however faint and artificial – the feeling of being a young and critically acclaimed artist. After years of being able to only fantasise about reliving her youth and achieving fame, when the dream materialises in online world, Angela becomes more indulged in her lies than she initially planned – which supports the claim that identity theft is not just the result of low self-esteem, but can also be caused by easy access to the content available online. Boyd (2008) explains Angela's mindset to even greater detail:

“Imagine that you are screaming to be heard in a loud environment when suddenly the music stops and everyone hears the end of your sentence. Most likely, they will turn to stare at you and you will turn beet red (unless exposure does not bother you).” The author also describes why it was easy for the older woman to create such elaborate lie: “Participants were not likely to post secrets, but they often posted information that was only relevant in certain contexts. The assumption was that if you were visiting someone’s page, you could access information in context. When snippets and actions were broadcast to the News Feed, they were taken out of context and made far more visible than seemed reasonable.” (p. 14)

Although not clearly stated in the film, it is suggested by Wesselman's further actions that pretending to be Abigail, however joyful it might have seemed at the beginning, would not fulfill all the expectations related to the Internet friendship the woman has developed over time.
        Through Abigail, she desired to feel youthful again, which, at the beginning, she achieved. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that the girl, oblivious to her mother's actions, was only eight years old, both in reality, and Angela's shenanigans. As it is revealed at the end of the production, the woman did, in fact, started to falsely believe that the world she had created truly existed, but it did not happen up until establishing a whole group of fake facebook identities. At the point of realising that the character of Abigail might not be sufficient for her needs, Angela was fully aware of what she was doing, and, most importantly, of her authentic identity, and hence, emotions.
        What was previously the aim, has become an obstacle, as the woman started to – genuinely – develop romantic feelings towards Nev. Abigail's age, despite being the most important factor preventing any kind of an emotional bond other than friendship and admiration for talent, was not the only reason behind Wesselman's decision to indulge into even more complex deception.
        The idea of admitting the lies to the man, and thus proving herself to be dishonest and untrustworthy was upsetting the woman, yet, surprisingly, not as much as revealing her actual, physical frame. Such thinking might paint Angela as shallow and deprived of principles in the viewer's eyes, but one should not forget the circumstances surrounding the already perplexing situation.
        Knowing Nev to be in his mid-twenties at the time of encountering Abigail, Angela suspected that he would most probably not be interested in a relationship with a much older woman, focusing on this fact even more than on her already having a life partner. She also deduced that even if those two matters were somehow overcome, her physique might have played a deciding role in stopping any further romantic involvement. Such realisation greatly distressed Angela, which exemplifies the validity of Niemz, Griffiths, and Banyard's theory.
        Wesselman's insecurities, deepened by her use of the Internet, did not, however make her refrain from continuing the relationship with Nev. Being aware of the legitimate happiness posing as Abigail had initially provided her with, she decided to create another fabricated online identity, which would not only be an embodiment of past desires, but also the current ones.This stage of Angela's deception was when Aimee Gonzales, unbeknownst to her, became involved, and where the famous woman's experience with identity theft ought to be explained in greater detail.
        Gonzales' was de facto not introduced in “Catfish” in person, yet her involvement was equally as important as Angela's. The viewer has a chance to familiarise themselves with the image of Gonzales through many pictures of her shown in the film, yet not only, at the beginning, does not see the model and photographer directly on the screen, but also does not learn her true identity. The reason for such bizarre participation was Angela's aforementioned decision to not abandon her fraudulent online activity because of the limitations of Abigail's persona.
        The Internet was the Washington-based model's main platform to share her work, both as a photographer and a model. She used networks aimed especially at people interesting in photography, but also websites like then-popular MySpace, where she posted more personal and not professional work. Fully aware of praise and criticism resulting from sharing any kind of craft online, Gonzales had not expected her pictures to be misused in any way. When asked about “Catfish” and her reaction to Wesselman's actions, in an interview conducted in 2010 by Gina Piccalo, the model admitted: “She [Angela Wesselman] went to my MySpace page, my Model Mayhem page. She was even quoting things that I would say on my pictures and she would use that on her own pictures.”
        How exactly Angela found Gonzales' work remains unknown, yet it is not difficult to understand why she chose the model's image to be the face of her newly invented character. Bearing in mind the older woman's already existing and newly developed self-esteem issues, as well as her unreciprocated romantic attachment to Nev, Aimee's persona appears to be what would alleviate the problems had Angela had the chance to possess the model's physical features. What was undoubtedly not possible to attain in an offline world, became certainly achievable online. Encouraged by the success of Abigail's bogus profile, especially after gaining enough experience in using a fake online persona thanks to it, Angela constructed a completely new character, a nineteen years old Megan Faccio.
        This is the name the viewers know Aimee Gonzales by in Schulman's production. Soon after establishing Megan's profile, Angela tried to use it to befriend Nev again, this time as a woman in her late teens (to validate the sudden Facebook invitation, Megan was introduced as Abigail's older sister).
        As the relationship between Nev and Megan quickly developed, Niemz, Griffiths, and Banyard are proven to be right yet again. Angela became even more invested in pursuing the lie as Megan (but did not stop to contact Nev as Abigail, hence her new remained to seem genuine to the man). The preference of the character of Megan can be explained by both alleviating Angela's problems with self-image and the enacted possibility of romantic interactions.
        As mentioned earlier, Abigail's fake persona allowed Angela to, however briefly, fulfill her artistic ambitions, and Megan Faccio, accordingly, personified the physical qualities the woman desired in order to form a stronger bond with Nev. The existence of Abigail's older sister profile can be explained from the perspective of both the catfish and the catfished, the first clarifying the reason behind its creation, the other describing the outcome and consequences, in this case, experienced by a famous woman.
        In Rob Frappier's interview with Nev Schulman, his brother, and a friend, who helped to shot and produce the film, the director talks about his attitude towards Megan, and his attachment to the sisters met online:

"The depth of the interaction and the extent of it was much more personal for me. (...) And it’s been a great lesson in sort of understanding why you allow yourself to, or convince yourself of something that you want — and the power of flattery and the fantasy and the escape element in all of us, in that we want something that doesn’t make sense or is unobtainable. (...) I guess I was at a point in my life where I felt like, okay, I’d like to get to the next level with a woman. I’d like to feel a really deep connection with someone, as I think everybody does, and I hadn’t found that in New York City. And so, when something came along that was so different and so unusual that I thought, “Maybe that’s why. Maybe I haven’t been looking in the right place.” Maybe there’s something so organic and genuine about this family that it will sort of take me out of this world that hasn’t worked, in regards specifically to the perfect girl, and I’ll find it somewhere else where I would least expect."

The quote, obviously, describes Nev's opinion and feelings, but can also be used as means of understanding Angela's emotions and logic. Being in a relationship where the needs of the children were the most important issue, Angela might have longed for the romantic connection she once experienced with Vince. Even though the circumstances were clearly different, as the woman thought she lost the attachment, and Nev had never been in love, they both deduced that a loving partner was what they desired at that time.
        They considered, after becoming Facebook acquaintances, that they would try to find their significant one in a place different than usual – for Nev, a native New Yorker, it was Michigan; Angela looked online for what turned out to be a refreshing, but ultimately specious bond, which involved two more, unsuspecting, yet truly affected, people – Aimee Gonzales and Vince Pierce.
        Accordingly, feelings seem to be the most important among Nev and Angela's shared experiences. “Organic and genuine”, they let both of them believe that they had found exactly what they needed. Although it might appear bizarre that a man would genuinely fall in love with a woman he has only ever seen in pictures (and, later, on the phone, heard what was supposed to be Megan speaking), it is, at the same time, not unimaginable; even though there was no physical contact, communication and appearance – both essential in forming a bond – were present.
        The catfish' emotions, however, happen to be more difficult to understand. While Nev had no idea he was being misled, Angela, despite slowly losing sense of reality, still knew the basis of the relationship was artificial. As mentioned earlier, a connection without any physical contact was sufficient for answering the woman's needs.
        Though based on elaborate lies, the affair between the catfished and the catfish would most certainly not be possible without the engagement of Gonzales. The interview with Gina Picallo comprises not only of the description of Wesselman's online activity, but also describes the model's feelings. “Gonzales says: “Your natural response is, ‘Oh, it’s OK.’ And it’s not. It’s not OK.” Wesselman-Pierce even used the name of Gonzales’ 8-year-old daughter to identify an imaginary dead pet snake. “I definitely felt violated and just completely drained,” says Gonzales, who also has a son, 6. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so tired in my life.” The fragment allows a better insight into Aimee Gonzales' experience both as a person whose identity has been hijacked and as a famous woman sharing her work and image on social media.
        What might draw the reader's attention first is the model's children being included in the scam as well. Although Wesselman was not aiming to hurt the children, identity theft is assuredly among the dangers the Internet possesses for minors.
        Posting children's pictures and personal information online is prevalent among parents who use social media. Although majority of them does it simply to share the joys of parenting, the data, as any other information that enters the world wide web, might end up being viewed by a previously unintended party. Whether it is an online predator preying on children, or someone, like Wesselman, who does not intend to hurt the child per se, a minor's privacy can easily be jeopardized, which, if the child is mature enough to understand the situation, but not to confront it properly, can lead to serious health issues. Murburg (1994) states :


“The neurophysiological activation seen during acute stress is usually rapid and reversible. When the stressful event is of a sufficient duration, intensity, or frequency, however, these changes are not reversible. (...) In the adult, with a mature brain, the increases in catecholamine activity associated with the stress response may result in sensitization. In the developing brain, however, neurotransmitters and hormones play key roles in neuronal migration, differentiation, synaptic proliferation and overall brain development (Lauder 1988) and, therefore, the tremendous increases in neurotransmitter activity seen with severe or prolonged stress would be expected to have a significant impact on brain development.” (p. 4)

It is worth mentioning that the threats above were described as an experience of an ordinary parent and child, who, although are vulnerable to identity theft, usually do not get recognized and purposely searched for. A public person, however, attracts a bigger online following, which, most of the time, leads to the public being interested not only in their idol, but also in his or her environment. In extreme cases, such fascination heads to stalking, but it might take a less physically damaging (for the victim) and demanding (for the wrongdoer) form.
        Aimee Gonzales, as a mother herself, besides her professional and amateur work, shared information and photos related to her family as well. Wesselman, in order to make the life she had crafted on Facebook more believable, decided to use the model's child's (and, as the film reveals later, other members' of the family too) persona. One might wonder: would the chances of Angela claiming the identity of the youngest members of the Gonzales family have been lower if the young woman was a private person? Since Wesselman never explained how exactly she found Aimee's photographs, in this particular case, it might seem impossible to give a direct answer to such question; however, there are certain premises that suggest the correlation between Gonzales' profession and her children being in jeopardy of identity theft. The easiness of finding a person modeling online, the number of available pictures (which Angela collected hundreds of), and, deeper than in the case of a private individual, interest in the famous' personal life, all contribute to Aimee Gonzales, as a famous woman, being in a greater risk of the theft of her and her relatives' image than someone who has not exposed themselves on the Internet to such extent.
        The violation of the children's privacy is a serious and thought-provoking matter, and undeniably related to the model's work, yet it is not the woman's only concern linked to being catfished. In the interview, even before the mention of her son and daughter, Gonzales describes her first response – or what she thought would be her proper reaction – to the situation.
        In one of her blog posts, Sara F. Hawkins, an attorney, reminds the reader:

“Nearly every photo taken gives the author (the one who takes the photo) a protectable right to prevent others from using or reproducing that image. Of course, there are exceptions, but generally, the photographer owns the copyright. This is actually very important to know should you ever hand your camera to someone else to take a photo.” (Hawkins, 2011)
       
The quote defines the legal aspect of picture sharing. Shortly after finding out about Wesselman's shenanigans, the model contemplated pursuing legal action against the catfish, yet later chose not to, as Piccalo's interview also discloses: “Initially, Gonzales considered reporting Wesselman-Pierce to some authority to see if she had any legal recourse. In the end, though, she decided to let it go. “She didn’t really financially gain anything from me,” Gonzales reasoned. “I’m not a person that really deals with confrontation very well. I just kind of avoid it. It didn’t make sense for me.””
        Since there were no authorities involved, and the woman focuses on her emotional reaction to the theft, Gonzales' mental attitude needs to be construed in greater detail.
        The first – and for many, the logical – response to someone stealing another person's photographs is that the uploader should be aware of the risks of publicising content online. From negative commentary to more malicious, or even illegal, actions, there is no method of fully protecting oneself from the dangers the Internet possesses, and since, a person, at least in the cases where no illicit activity was present, should not feel disturbed or upset by falling a victim to such wrongdoings. The conclusion seems to be especially relevant when the famous are involved, as, usually, they are fully aware of the reaching of the Internet and easy access to the shared data.
        Gonzales', however, seems to disagree with aforementioned mindset. She admits to having felt “drained”, and refuses to simply ignore the situation she has found herself in. Although she does not openly provide a specific reason – besides, obviously, the unexpectedness and bizarreness of the situation – one might easily guess the model's conflicted emotions. Is Gonzales' chosen profession the main reason for her being exposed to such trauma? The quantity of and uncomplicated access to the pictures (also the professional ones) made her an easy target for perpetrators like Wesselman, who need a large amount of images to successfully pursue their lie.
        In conclusion, the unexpected relationship between Aimee Gonzales and Angela Wessleman illustrates one of the dangers awaiting a famous woman who decides to use social media, especially when it is meant to be a tool for sharing the work that has made them a public figure in the first place. Personalities like Mrs Gonzales become more vulnerable to identity theft, not only because of its expanding definition, but also due to a complex combination of other users' struggle to manage their own emotions correctly and deeply rooted convictions of what physical and mental features are considered superior.
        Thanks to Nev Schulman's film, one is able to understand two concepts that have already existed for a very long time – identity theft and problems with self-image – in a completely new way, as those problems both exist now, besides their traditional form, in their contemporary, online variant. Yet, first and foremost, the production is well suited to be an example that specifies and helps one introduce themselves to the issue this chapter is focused on.
        Because of what was supposed (since, as mentioned before, the specific model's beauty and youth was what Angela thought Nev would be interested in) to be her assets, Aimee Gonzales fell prey to the unexpected behaviour of a member of her Internet audience, who, yet again, was initially meant to solely admire or criticise the content they had encountered. The continuous theft, unnoticed for a time long enough to let Wesselman develop a believable new online persona on another person's expense, caused the young woman a psychological unrest, a consequence that the thief failed to consider while progressing her malpractice. It is also important to remember that the trauma was not caused only by Gonzales's reaction to her image being used as a mean to deceive others, but comprised of discovering that her daughter was involved in the hoax as well.
        The story presented in the film, provides a suitable example of a photographer struggling with identity theft, although, it is, undoubtedly, just one of numerous cases of online thievery and deception involving a well-known woman.