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Does any one know if this happens in other countries? I remember watching a documentary about the social workers that help these young people make transitions f

Does any one know if this happens in other countries? I remember watching a documentary about the social workers that help these young people make transitions from recluses to members of society. Although the article says that the number has decreased in recent years, I'd be surprised if it hasn't increased globally because of online gaming/communities. (EDIT: The documentary I saw was called "Japan's Missing Teenagers" which aired on SBS in 2003. Really interesting but I can't seem to find it anywhere.)

Kephael 10y ago
They're referred to as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) in the UK. As you mentioned, there's quite a few in countries like the US that don't leave their house often due to gaming addictions. I've seen many people on Steam showing north of 150 hours of games played in the last two weeks and I don't believe they're just leaving the game running.
- smartbit 10y ago
  A Palo Alto Networks NGFW has a category 'Media' which includes Video, snapchat, etc. Deny Media is quite effective against any form of behavior with a computer that supports NEET.
- wccrawford 10y ago
  NEET is a term used in Japan, too, and it's not quite the same as hikikomori, but they're close enough that they're often used interchangeably.
Analemma_ 10y ago
There's a theory out there, "to see what the West will look like in 10-20 years, look at Japan today". It's most commonly applied to economics (permanent low growth, low inflation and ZIRP) and demographics (falling birth rate), but I think it's true of the NEET and hikikomori phenomena as well. The "unemployed young male who just plays video games" demographic that recently got a writeup in the WSJ certainly seems to parallel Japan's NEETs. With hikikomori, it's more anecdotal, but when I flick through my Tumblr feed I feel like I see a lot of people who state outright that they just can't function outside. I think in a few more years it will be noticeable enough that we can say it's happening here "for real"
- TazeTSchnitzel 10y ago
  Consider, though, that people who can't function outside would be more likely to use the web (because they have little else to do). So it's not necessarily representative.
- sotojuan 10y ago
  > when I flick through my Tumblr feed I feel like I see a lot of people who state outright that they just can't function outside. I'm going to sound rude and this is out of anecdotal experience (and I know some people actually can't function outside) but you should be careful when people on Tumblr say that. I've found most are just bored or lonely teenagers who self-diagnose themselves random things like Aspergers, ADHD, depression, etc. for whatever reason (sometimes for a valid reason related to family/household dysfunction, other times just to appear more interesting and to fit in online). When I used Tumblr five or so years ago I remember following these people and the ones I kept in touch with well, to sound rude again, grew out of it.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
louislumiere 10y ago
Switzerland. last few years, finally people are starting to acknowledging the problem.
pragmaticjj 10y ago
It's a world wide phenomenon. While more pronounced in affluent countries with generous benefits systems, it's basically happening anywhere where supporting +1 person has marginal increase in costs.
- kardashian007 10y ago
  We need new ways of valuing, sharing, creating and utilizing human output that isn't solely fixed on the next quarter results. PS: there is also an inherent risk of large demographics of idle people encouraging both lone wolves and mob mayhem. Busy people with friends, kids and what's inside vlogs generally don't suddenly become terrorists or overthrow the regime.
lscore720 10y ago
I just posted a general explanation of its prevalence in only Japan. But here's another perspective from a Japanese psychologist who's been working with Hikikomori patients for 15 years+: According to my clinical experiences, hikikomori has a history of attachment trauma with their mother (all biological mothers due to the absence of divorce in the families). When rejected emotionally by a mother, a young child hides his original self for protection, and creates a false self to adapt to the dysfunctional mother. The child grows to an adult who neither trusts nor shows his true identity to people. When the conflicts between pretending and hiding the true identify become unbearable, he would retreat into extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. This phenomenon is observed commonly across my hikikomori clients. Hikikomori begins from dysfunctional mother-child relationships, which are influenced by the society that values group harmony and compliance over individual freedom. The syndrome began surfacing when Japan achieved economic success while the mothers with traditional values were unprepared to satisfy the children’s needs for love, individual freedom, and self-actualization. Hence, many hikikomoris find no place in Japan, feeling captive in the affluent but culturally oppressive society.

Kephael 10y ago

They're referred to as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) in the UK. As you mentioned, there's quite a few in countries like the US that don't leave their house often due to gaming addictions. I've seen many people on Steam showing north of 150 hours of games played in the last two weeks and I don't believe they're just leaving the game running.

smartbit 10y ago
A Palo Alto Networks NGFW has a category 'Media' which includes Video, snapchat, etc. Deny Media is quite effective against any form of behavior with a computer that supports NEET.
wccrawford 10y ago
NEET is a term used in Japan, too, and it's not quite the same as hikikomori, but they're close enough that they're often used interchangeably.

Analemma_ 10y ago

There's a theory out there, "to see what the West will look like in 10-20 years, look at Japan today". It's most commonly applied to economics (permanent low growth, low inflation and ZIRP) and demographics (falling birth rate), but I think it's true of the NEET and hikikomori phenomena as well. The "unemployed young male who just plays video games" demographic that recently got a writeup in the WSJ certainly seems to parallel Japan's NEETs. With hikikomori, it's more anecdotal, but when I flick through my Tumblr feed I feel like I see a lot of people who state outright that they just can't function outside. I think in a few more years it will be noticeable enough that we can say it's happening here "for real"

TazeTSchnitzel 10y ago
Consider, though, that people who can't function outside would be more likely to use the web (because they have little else to do). So it's not necessarily representative.
sotojuan 10y ago
> when I flick through my Tumblr feed I feel like I see a lot of people who state outright that they just can't function outside. I'm going to sound rude and this is out of anecdotal experience (and I know some people actually can't function outside) but you should be careful when people on Tumblr say that. I've found most are just bored or lonely teenagers who self-diagnose themselves random things like Aspergers, ADHD, depression, etc. for whatever reason (sometimes for a valid reason related to family/household dysfunction, other times just to appear more interesting and to fit in online). When I used Tumblr five or so years ago I remember following these people and the ones I kept in touch with well, to sound rude again, grew out of it.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

louislumiere 10y ago

Switzerland. last few years, finally people are starting to acknowledging the problem.

pragmaticjj 10y ago

It's a world wide phenomenon. While more pronounced in affluent countries with generous benefits systems, it's basically happening anywhere where supporting +1 person has marginal increase in costs.

kardashian007 10y ago
We need new ways of valuing, sharing, creating and utilizing human output that isn't solely fixed on the next quarter results. PS: there is also an inherent risk of large demographics of idle people encouraging both lone wolves and mob mayhem. Busy people with friends, kids and what's inside vlogs generally don't suddenly become terrorists or overthrow the regime.

lscore720 10y ago

I just posted a general explanation of its prevalence in only Japan. But here's another perspective from a Japanese psychologist who's been working with Hikikomori patients for 15 years+: According to my clinical experiences, hikikomori has a history of attachment trauma with their mother (all biological mothers due to the absence of divorce in the families). When rejected emotionally by a mother, a young child hides his original self for protection, and creates a false self to adapt to the dysfunctional mother. The child grows to an adult who neither trusts nor shows his true identity to people. When the conflicts between pretending and hiding the true identify become unbearable, he would retreat into extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. This phenomenon is observed commonly across my hikikomori clients. Hikikomori begins from dysfunctional mother-child relationships, which are influenced by the society that values group harmony and compliance over individual freedom. The syndrome began surfacing when Japan achieved economic success while the mothers with traditional values were unprepared to satisfy the children’s needs for love, individual freedom, and self-actualization. Hence, many hikikomoris find no place in Japan, feeling captive in the affluent but culturally oppressive society.