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In Japan they have this phenomenom called hikikomori - young people shutting themselves off from the world, kinda like the person in the article did for a while
by jensen123 11y ago
In Japan they have this phenomenom called hikikomori - young people shutting themselves off from the world, kinda like the person in the article did for a while, until his parents threatened to cut him off. I'm wondering why we don't have much of this hikikomori phenomenom in the West - is it simply because Western parents don't tolerate it?
- ZenoArrow 11y agoI would suggest that we do have it in the West. It's not unknown to know people who live at their family home well into their 20s, don't work, don't go out much, spend their time getting stoned, watching TV, surfing the web, and playing computer games. The only major differences between the hikikomori and the equivalent Western stereotype is that food isn't brought to the room, and this leads to some limited social interactions with those around them. I can understand the appeal of being a recluse, and I'd much rather someone became a recluse than topped themselves.
- cloudier 11y agoThe equivalent Western stereotype is probably the neckbeard. It's prevalent enough to have shown up in mainstream media, e.g. South Park's Make Love, Not Warcraft.
- roghummal 11y agoWhat do you call a female neckbeard, then?
- JD557 11y agoI believe that the most common term is legbeard[1], although its usage is quite rare. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=legbeard http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=legbeard
- invisible_dust 11y agoa feminist
- tailgate 11y agoGenerally some version of spinster, future crazy cat lady, etc;
- mlamat 11y agoI think it's mainly a jobs problem. People are going to freak out in a few years when they will find out how many people have become passive by the recession of 2008, especially in the periphery countries of the EU, where unemployment is high.
- ZenoArrow 11y ago> "until his parents" Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the author is a female. Not that it matters that much, the issues apply to both males and females.