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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

#71

Post by antihero »

semperfaux wrote: post #41
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.

That's definitely not hikikomori. The real thing basically never leaves its room, with family providing food. Even a less extreme example almost certainly would never leave the home for long enough to die anywhere else. They do often spend a lot of time on the internet, but it's not a cause, it's a related fixation (when you're trapped -- by what's probably some combination of your own preference and perceived outsid…

What happens when a hikkomori gets kicked out of the house? My immediate thought running through my mind was that if these were my kids, they'd get the boot. Obviously things aren't that simple, but has anyone actually tried that? What happens? Do they just die?

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

#72

Post by anon4 »

semperfaux wrote: post #41
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.

That's definitely not hikikomori. The real thing basically never leaves its room, with family providing food. Even a less extreme example almost certainly would never leave the home for long enough to die anywhere else. They do often spend a lot of time on the internet, but it's not a cause, it's a related fixation (when you're trapped -- by what's probably some combination of your own preference and perceived outsid…

>the real thing basically never leaves its room

>thing

>its

They are still people, even if you disagree or outright hate how they live their life. If this was an attempt at making the sentence gender-neutral, please use "one(s)" and "they" in the future like so: The real ones basically never leave their room, with...

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

#73

Post by jimmies »

Morgawr wrote: post #50
semperfaux wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 career at the same time). This sort of works in closed system, where people do not really know about any alternatives. You could look at it this way, I suppose, but it falls apart a bit when you consider that J…

>to suggest that kids who have never left the nation, let alone their own homes, have somehow adopted the cultural norms of cultures thousands of miles away just by consuming their internet leavings seems more than a bit questionable. I don't completely agree with the post you're replying to, however this part is not so far fetched to believe. It doesn't matter much how often these people go outside, the Japanese med…

> As a matter of fact, these people are much more detached than the rest of the population and are much more susceptible to the western Internet cultural phenomenon to such an extent that it might be changing their point of view in such a way that they find themselves unable to fit into their actual culture.

Hmm. I think you might be right. I can tell for me, as an Asian guy that came to the US about 6-7 years ago, I feel much more liberated and less stressful being in the US than in where I came from. It is exactly the make-believe culture that I have been exposed to thanks to the Internet that made me feel detached from the culture over there. Whether it is the main reason that people shut in, I can't tell. It is probably not the case (and it doesn't have to be) for the majority of my fellow friends who came to the US to do post-graduate studies (I came for undergrad after being a drop out). They often find that it is more stressful to live in the US where they don't have friends and their familiar environment.

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

#74

Post by meow_mix »

Reading over the comments it seems to me that there's some misunderstanding of introversion. There's a large difference between being introverted and being socially isolated. A healthy introvert rarely goes over a day without speaking to someone. Keep in mind introversion does not mean that someone is against seeing people at all.

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

#76

Post by tendies »

Kiro wrote: post #43

I only skimmed the article but are there hikikomoris who are happy with their life? I'm an introvert who is happily anti-social and wouldn't mind staying home all the time if I could afford it.

It only works if you have a garuntee that you can be a shut in till the day you die. Other things to worry about is getting health/dental care.

I've been a shut in for 5 years now, I was pretty content and happy for the first few years. It was only until my parents started having financial troubles and begun the process of divorce when it turned into hell. Everyday I'm terrified by the thought that one day I'll have to go back to society. I knew some people that went through this and they have mostly ended up homeless because they simply were too under qualified to get a job. Health care is a problem too, I do my best to stay in shape and eat healthy foods to prevent any major illnesses because if I were to get sick it would mean severe debts as I have 0 savings.

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

#77

Post by Kiro »

tendies wrote: post #76
Kiro wrote: post #43

I only skimmed the article but are there hikikomoris who are happy with their life? I'm an introvert who is happily anti-social and wouldn't mind staying home all the time if I could afford it.

It only works if you have a garuntee that you can be a shut in till the day you die. Other things to worry about is getting health/dental care. I've been a shut in for 5 years now, I was pretty content and happy for the first few years. It was only until my parents started having financial troubles and begun the process of divorce when it turned into hell. Everyday I'm terrified by the thought that one day I'll have…

Thank you for sharing this. Do you mind telling us a bit more? How do you earn money? How are you spending your days?

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

#78

Post by mkal_tsr »

Red_Tarsius wrote: post #46
mkal_tsr wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think no shut-in nor introvert gets satisfaction from such behaviour. It's amazing how you're acutely aware to how every introvert feels about this, when did you manage to contact them all and convince them to respond to such a question? Otherwise, how can you make such an absolute assertion?

You missed the "I think" part. I was genuinely sharing my assumptions and experiences. OF COURSE I can't speak for all introverts I don't know, but your post is forcing me to highlight such obviousness.

I did see the "I think" part, but I also saw "no introvert" which was taking an absolute stance, regardless of it being your opinion or not.

You could have used "some", "most", "many", "a sizable portion", etc, but you took an absolute term rather than a malleable term. It's not my fault you're unclear in your communication.

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

#79

Post by girvo »

antihero wrote: post #70
SyneRyder wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Then you end up with the strangest of all joiner group identities, the ones made up of "individuals" who strive obsessively to be "individuals" just exactly like all the rest of their clique-mates. I think you just described the goth scene perfectly :) Though at least some of the goths are hyper aware of it & treat their "I'm like so different" goth uniform as a joke. On a related note, going to a goth nightclub r…

Weirdly, as an extrovert who had serious social anxiety as a teen, I find that hanging out with people who are still socially awkward and introverted brings me right back to the anxiety I conquered years ago. I think the key factor now is that as an extrovert I give out a lot of social energy and so when I don't receive it back in turn I think I've fucked up or aren't entertaining people and thus it makes me briefly…

Interesting, you've described myself to a tee there. I think your hypothesis is sound, too, as that's what I've always sort of assumed.
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