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

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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

#2

Post by hikineet »

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 never developed a work ethic. College hit me like a sack of bricks.

I'm sure there are myriad reasons why people choose to withdraw from society; my case is merely a personal anecdote. Nonetheless I think my case is not a rare exception.

Ultimately what pulled me out of that malaise was successful employment in a software company. It was only after I recovered a sense of self worth that I could finally step out of my cave.

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

#5

Post by nyolfen »

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…

my experiences resonate with yours. i'm still a hermit but my withdrawal isn't nearly as total as it was from 18-22, when as you said i experienced total ego destruction and inability to cope with being an adult.

i'm almost done with my bachelor's degree now (two weeks!), finally, at 28. i'm actually in the middle of writing a very long final essay about hikikomori for one of my classes this semester. go figure!

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

#6

Post by codezero »

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 doesn't usually lead to long term skills one can apply. If anything, I'm less social now that I have marketable skills :P

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

#7

Post by codezero »

nyolfen wrote: post #5
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…

my experiences resonate with yours. i'm still a hermit but my withdrawal isn't nearly as total as it was from 18-22, when as you said i experienced total ego destruction and inability to cope with being an adult. i'm almost done with my bachelor's degree now (two weeks!), finally, at 28. i'm actually in the middle of writing a very long final essay about hikikomori for one of my classes this semester. go figure!

congrats to you, I got my BS at 28 as well, and was happy to do it then rather than when I was 22 :)

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

#8

Post by amelius »

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.

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

#10

Post by theprop »

"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.

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