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A New Form of Social Withdrawal in Japan: A Review of ‘Hikikomori’ (2009)

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Re: A New Form of Social Withdrawal in Japan: A Review of ‘Hikikomori’ (2009)

#11

Post by DougN7 »

codezero wrote: post #6
hikineet wrote: post #2

Hikikomori is not only a Japanese phenomenon. I was Hikiki for a year after dropping out of college. I lived with my parents playing WoW all night and sleeping all day. I had very few social interactions. What dragged me into that lifestyle was the complete destruction of my ego. I was simply unprepared to live as an adult. It's not much of a surprise I couldn't cope. In high-school I was coddled for being smart and…

But didn't you actually have a lot of social interactions if you played WoW? I played a lot of online games, and they were my primary source of social interaction. To someone who doesn't understand how one can be social on the internet, it could have appeared that I was socially withdrawn, but I wasn't. Like any condition though, the negative consequences have their own merit: playing video games most of the day does…

I always question that. I've played online too, and ever got to "know" some people (as much as you can know an anonymous nickname). But in face to face situations, the online interactions really weren't very useful. Did you find face-to-face easier because of online experiences?

Re: A New Form of Social Withdrawal in Japan: A Review of ‘Hikikomori’ (2009)

#12

Post by [deleted] »

amelius wrote: post #8
hikineet wrote: post #2

Hikikomori is not only a Japanese phenomenon. I was Hikiki for a year after dropping out of college. I lived with my parents playing WoW all night and sleeping all day. I had very few social interactions. What dragged me into that lifestyle was the complete destruction of my ego. I was simply unprepared to live as an adult. It's not much of a surprise I couldn't cope. In high-school I was coddled for being smart and…

> Ultimately what pulled me out of that malaise was successful employment in a software company. Are you sure you are actually out of that malaise? I mean, writing software can also very much feel like playing a game, and an even less social one perhaps.

[deleted]

Re: A New Form of Social Withdrawal in Japan: A Review of ‘Hikikomori’ (2009)

#13

Post by codezero »

DougN7 wrote: post #11
codezero wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But didn't you actually have a lot of social interactions if you played WoW? I played a lot of online games, and they were my primary source of social interaction. To someone who doesn't understand how one can be social on the internet, it could have appeared that I was socially withdrawn, but I wasn't. Like any condition though, the negative consequences have their own merit: playing video games most of the day does…

I always question that. I've played online too, and ever got to "know" some people (as much as you can know an anonymous nickname). But in face to face situations, the online interactions really weren't very useful. Did you find face-to-face easier because of online experiences?

Yeah, I got better at face to face interactions after having a semi-large consistent group of online friends. After a few years we met up once in a while as a group (maybe once a year), and that helped a lot too.

Re: A New Form of Social Withdrawal in Japan: A Review of ‘Hikikomori’ (2009)

#14

Post by csa »

theprop wrote: post #10

"Outside Japan, there are just two case reports of hikikomori syndrome, one in Oman and one in Spain." I agree that this should be quite common around the world. In the U.S., there are a lot of 20-year-old men who live with their parents or have a part-time undemanding job and spend most of their time playing video games, etc. and don't intend to get married.

Most/all of what you describe is not hikikomori.

The "pure" form of hikis will rarely even leave their rooms. The idea of a part time job is very much not something a pure hiki would do.

There is a lot of social maladjustment in Japan -- I've never seen this to the same extent in the US or EU. It might be possible in some middle eastern countries due to extreme religious reasons (e.g., Oman), but the underlying reasons strike me as different.

Anyway, please don't conflate this with "playing a lot of video games" -- this is an extreme form of isolation that most people have never seen.

Re: A New Form of Social Withdrawal in Japan: A Review of ‘Hikikomori’ (2009)

#15

Post by csa »

amelius wrote: post #8
hikineet wrote: post #2

Hikikomori is not only a Japanese phenomenon. I was Hikiki for a year after dropping out of college. I lived with my parents playing WoW all night and sleeping all day. I had very few social interactions. What dragged me into that lifestyle was the complete destruction of my ego. I was simply unprepared to live as an adult. It's not much of a surprise I couldn't cope. In high-school I was coddled for being smart and…

> Ultimately what pulled me out of that malaise was successful employment in a software company. Are you sure you are actually out of that malaise? I mean, writing software can also very much feel like playing a game, and an even less social one perhaps.

Assuming they were not teleworking, getting out of their bedroom would be cosnidered a big win.

Staring at a computer screen at work basically indicates that they are not hiki any more (although they probably still have some issues that will need some work before they would be considered mainstream).

Re: A New Form of Social Withdrawal in Japan: A Review of ‘Hikikomori’ (2009)

#17

Post by Red_Tarsius »

hikineet wrote: post #2

Hikikomori is not only a Japanese phenomenon. I was Hikiki for a year after dropping out of college. I lived with my parents playing WoW all night and sleeping all day. I had very few social interactions. What dragged me into that lifestyle was the complete destruction of my ego. I was simply unprepared to live as an adult. It's not much of a surprise I couldn't cope. In high-school I was coddled for being smart and…

What you wrote really resonated with me. 'Destruction of the ego' is the most fitting description of that lifestyle. The Internet is the key. You need that drip-feed of sounds, colors, shapes 24/7 to drown your inner voice. You can't stand being with yourself. It's isomorphic to other addictions, like slot machines or alcohol.

Re: A New Form of Social Withdrawal in Japan: A Review of ‘Hikikomori’ (2009)

#19

Post by cpersona »

hikineet wrote: post #2

Hikikomori is not only a Japanese phenomenon. I was Hikiki for a year after dropping out of college. I lived with my parents playing WoW all night and sleeping all day. I had very few social interactions. What dragged me into that lifestyle was the complete destruction of my ego. I was simply unprepared to live as an adult. It's not much of a surprise I couldn't cope. In high-school I was coddled for being smart and…

I don't think you could have more perfectly described what I experienced.

The only thing that kept me from completely succumbing to it was my family's economic situation. I was something of a functional hikiki, drowning on the inside but putting on a normal mask for the outside world.

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