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The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

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Re: The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

#31

Post by marincounty »

Red_Tarsius wrote: post #28
jhou2 wrote: post #13

I might be way off, but I tend to view this from an economic perspective in that these young (and not so young) shut-ins, in a pragmatic sense, don't need to work to survive. Their parents are able to provide for them all the basic needs for life - mostly shelter and food. It is a relatively small marginal expense to the parents who usually already have fair incomes. Until the parents pass away, which may take some t…

I'm extremely introvert and – as a student, not a neet! – I've lived the past months in a manner similar to that described by the article. I think no shut-in nor introvert gets satisfaction from such behaviour.

I apologize for the--know it all--you are responding to. The one thing that really irritates me about Americans(including myself at one time) is we think we know, or have the the answers to Everything! I can kind of stomach it when it comes to our culture, but it become nauseous when we comment on other, usually better cultures.

Re: The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

#32

Post by CmonDev »

yrlson wrote: post #20
bane wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm married into a South Korean family, and from my observation Korean society has less intense version of Japan's social collective mood (IIR it's written as '情' in both countries) It's really difficult to read about this kind of thing and maintain an appropriate feeling of cultural relativism without wanting go "oh Japan" or in my case "oh Korea". There's been many times with my family and friends a seemingly intra…

Hikikomori are also well "networked" online and play the game of who is authentic and who is fake. Perhaps it is as popular as it is because it has become an identity.

I have read a fan translation + to-fiction conversion of a japanese manga about a hikki who died saving other people, ended up in a fantasy world and became successful. The sub-culture is definitely going strong and international.

Re: The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

#33

Post by [deleted] »

marincounty wrote: post #31
Red_Tarsius wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm extremely introvert and – as a student, not a neet! – I've lived the past months in a manner similar to that described by the article. I think no shut-in nor introvert gets satisfaction from such behaviour.

I apologize for the--know it all--you are responding to. The one thing that really irritates me about Americans(including myself at one time) is we think we know, or have the the answers to Everything! I can kind of stomach it when it comes to our culture, but it become nauseous when we comment on other, usually better cultures.

[deleted]

Re: The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

#34

Post by oxide »

jkot wrote: post #22

So first, economy in Japan sucks, there is not that many jobs and houses to go around. Also problem is not just depression, but shame and lack of alternatives. And hikomori also affects women at large scale. Japan (and any Confucian culture) shames people who do not accept their traditional roles. Men are expected to work until they fall dead. Women are expected to take care of children (while optionally following ca…

great perspective.

Re: The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

#35

Post by chipsy »

doyoulikeworms wrote: post #29
wallflower wrote: post #16

One of the nice things about having a 9-5ish job is that I have to go into the office on a regular basis (not necessarily every day). Even just being in an environment (yes, open workspace) with some kind of energy/noise is good for someone who is so inwardly focused they tend to not need headphones in such an environment. As someone who has done mini shut-ins of almost double-digit days at a time (with corresponding…

I left my job to make video games, mostly solo. I'm financially able to pursue this lifestyle for the foreseeable future. > One of the nice things about having a 9-5ish job is that I have to go into the office on a regular basis (not necessarily every day). You hit the nail on the head for me. What I miss most from a normal job isn't money or status, but simply being around other people. I never once thought that I w…

Your HN profile says you are in the Bay Area. If Oakland is within reach, we run a free coworking session every Tuesday afternoon. It is primarily social in nature(with occasional "everybody is busy" days). [0]

More generally, I try to make my daily routine get me out of the house before I turn on the computer. That is, either I go out of the house and go to the gym, then work when I come back, or I go out of the house and sit down at a coffeeshop and work for two-to-four hours, then go to the gym, then come back. Changing locale tends to matter a lot to me, even if I'm not actually social while I'm out.

[0] http://www.meetup.com/SF-Bay-Area-Game-Jamming-Game-Design/e...

Re: The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

#36

Post by ekianjo »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #30
ekianjo wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> to the total exclusion of any third place There's always Starbucks. I'm only half-joking, there's always people there at all times of the day in Japan.

Well, starbucks was intentionally founded to be a "third place".

That's precisely why I said I was "half joking" :)

Re: The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

#38

Post by kbart »

"People who consider themselves hikikomori exhibit a wide range of symptoms, including depressive, autistic and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. A minority appear addicted to the Internet"

That's strange, I always thought Internet was the main cause of this problem. I've imagined hikikomori as those in S. Korea or Taiwan who die of exhaustion while playing online few days straight.

Re: The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

#39

Post by semperfaux »

ronnier wrote: post #25
rasz_pl wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> to the total exclusion of any third place there were Arcades, but they pretty much all closed in the nineties

Not here in Japan. I just left as a matter of fact. Lots of people there.

Yep. I'm in Tokyo and they're very common.

Re: The Fight to Save Japan’s Young Shut-Ins

#40

Post by lmm »

kbart wrote: post #38

"People who consider themselves hikikomori exhibit a wide range of symptoms, including depressive, autistic and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. A minority appear addicted to the Internet " That's strange, I always thought Internet was the main cause of this problem. I've imagined hikikomori as those in S. Korea or Taiwan who die of exhaustion while playing online few days straight.

> I've imagined hikikomori as those in S. Korea or Taiwan who die of exhaustion while playing online few days straight.

Nah, many of those are in internet cafés, and social pressure seems to be at least part of what keeps them playing (you don't see it happening with non-online games, after all). Different condition.

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