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Why is this a problem? What's wrong with living a reclusive life, if that's what you want to do? I live alone and don't go outside unless I have to buy food. I

Why is this a problem? What's wrong with living a reclusive life, if that's what you want to do? I live alone and don't go outside unless I have to buy food. I work online, and make electronic music and play video games when I'm not working. It's how I choose to live my life and don't see anything wrong with it.

sotojuan 10y ago
I think if half a million young people are doing it, it's worth at least studying right? No need to call it bad or good just yet.
- mattnumbe 10y ago
  According to the documentary I watched, a lot of these people are very intellectual but have some kind of falling out with society. Since Japan bases a lot of it's social norms on or around shame, these people become recluses because of their "failure" not because they want to play video games and be on the internet. A half a million people not contributing to a society that is already lacking in labor force cannot be called a good thing.
pcurve 10y ago
There are pretty specific set of criteria to be labeled as hikikomori and I'm not sure if you quite fit that definition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori
- labster 10y ago
  GP does not sound like a hikikomori; he even admits to going outside occasionally. If he wants to increase his hiki-level, he needs to reduce social contact as much as possible, and only come leave his home at hours when no one will notice him, if he leaves at all. The whole point is essentially self-imposed solitary confinement due to extreme fear/depression/social anxiety. Asking what's wrong with a reclusive life doesn't sound hiki to me at all.
TkTech 10y ago
They ain't making babies - ignore that they may or may not be producing value via online work. That's 541k individuals and rising that are not going to reproduce in a nation whose majority population is aging[1] and whose overall population is projected to collapse by almost 15% in 2050. Imagine 40% of your population being 65+. With a TRF of 1.7, that's over 1 million potential young replacements that are missing from the economy. Many people in Japan are terrified of the increasing trend if not necessarily the number of current individuals. Declining birth rates are the norm in the west and the simple solution to that is immigration. That doesn't work so well in Japan, which while perfectly polite to visitors is in many places extremely homogeneous and they like to keep it that way. [1]: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/retirement/retire-planning/how-japan-is-coping-with-a-rapidly-aging-population/article27259703/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/retirement/ret... [2]: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/population/ http://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/population/ [3]: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/without-babies-can-japan-survive.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/without-bab...
- pragmaticjj 10y ago
  I don't see how this is relevant. Nobody is having babies in Japan, especially the shut-ins. Immigration is "the simple solution" if the only thing you care about - selfishly - is that your retirement and pension benefits are being paid out.
  - TkTech 10y ago
    I guess I wasn't clear, I was responding to imaginology not the parent thread. It's a problem that's suddenly gaining more interest in Japan because they aren't making babies. Getting more babies is a political platform that a lot of people are currently riding. Hikikomoris and NEETs are an easy, growing trend you can point to and say "this is why we aren't making enough babies, they need to do their part, our system is fine they're just lazy".
    - pragmaticjj 10y ago
      Shut-ins and NEETs are the last people you'd go to in order to improve demographics of any country. These are the people who generally avoid social contact much less talk to members of opposite sex. I don't follow Japanese politics, but implicating NEETs in their demographic problems seems completely out of touch.
nemo1618 10y ago
It's not what they want to do. If you want a sobering view into the life of a hikki, browse wizchan for a few hours. These are not happy people.
- sotojuan 10y ago
  Eh... Wizardchan is a special place. First of all, it's not Japanese—most of the users there are American or European. Second, forums have a culture and tone. If curious people see posters be angry and mad at society, they will either join in because they share the same values, or go somewhere else. So basically Wizardchan could be considered a subset of NEETs that are angry and sad. But in the end, I do agree most NEETs aren't happy. I think when we hear "not working or studying" we tend to think "vacation", not depression/loneliness/being ill.
IANAD 10y ago
I'm an introvert and tend toward reclusion, but still think that reclusion can be bad. We should interact with others to help them and to be helped IRL.
adrianm 10y ago
I don't think reclusiveness is the problem per se. These individuals are either fully or partially dependent on family or the government for the basic necessities.
mattnumbe 10y ago
This is much more than just being introverted or working a job that has little social interaction. This is complete withdraw from society. Many of these people don't even use the internet for communication. They don't go outside. Usually a parent takes care of them but never sees them. Their care taker leaves their meals at their bedroom door and walks away. It's incredibly sad.
meowface 10y ago
Out of curiosity, what's your job?
nostrebored 10y ago
Because being solitary for too long has been shown to have adverse effects on your mental health and is correlated with being unhealthy. As someone who has done what you're doing I can say unequivocally that I regret every minute of it and wish that I could've spent that time actually connecting with people.
nradov 10y ago
Have you checked your vitamin D level lately?
davesque 10y ago
If you're honestly happy doing that, I would agree and say there's nothing wrong with it.

sotojuan 10y ago

I think if half a million young people are doing it, it's worth at least studying right? No need to call it bad or good just yet.

mattnumbe 10y ago
According to the documentary I watched, a lot of these people are very intellectual but have some kind of falling out with society. Since Japan bases a lot of it's social norms on or around shame, these people become recluses because of their "failure" not because they want to play video games and be on the internet. A half a million people not contributing to a society that is already lacking in labor force cannot be called a good thing.

pcurve 10y ago

There are pretty specific set of criteria to be labeled as hikikomori and I'm not sure if you quite fit that definition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori

labster 10y ago
GP does not sound like a hikikomori; he even admits to going outside occasionally. If he wants to increase his hiki-level, he needs to reduce social contact as much as possible, and only come leave his home at hours when no one will notice him, if he leaves at all. The whole point is essentially self-imposed solitary confinement due to extreme fear/depression/social anxiety. Asking what's wrong with a reclusive life doesn't sound hiki to me at all.

TkTech 10y ago

They ain't making babies - ignore that they may or may not be producing value via online work. That's 541k individuals and rising that are not going to reproduce in a nation whose majority population is aging[1] and whose overall population is projected to collapse by almost 15% in 2050. Imagine 40% of your population being 65+. With a TRF of 1.7, that's over 1 million potential young replacements that are missing from the economy. Many people in Japan are terrified of the increasing trend if not necessarily the number of current individuals. Declining birth rates are the norm in the west and the simple solution to that is immigration. That doesn't work so well in Japan, which while perfectly polite to visitors is in many places extremely homogeneous and they like to keep it that way. [1]: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/retirement/retire-planning/how-japan-is-coping-with-a-rapidly-aging-population/article27259703/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/retirement/ret... [2]: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/population/ http://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/population/ [3]: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/without-babies-can-japan-survive.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/without-bab...

pragmaticjj 10y ago
I don't see how this is relevant. Nobody is having babies in Japan, especially the shut-ins. Immigration is "the simple solution" if the only thing you care about - selfishly - is that your retirement and pension benefits are being paid out.
- TkTech 10y ago
  I guess I wasn't clear, I was responding to imaginology not the parent thread. It's a problem that's suddenly gaining more interest in Japan because they aren't making babies. Getting more babies is a political platform that a lot of people are currently riding. Hikikomoris and NEETs are an easy, growing trend you can point to and say "this is why we aren't making enough babies, they need to do their part, our system is fine they're just lazy".
  - pragmaticjj 10y ago
    Shut-ins and NEETs are the last people you'd go to in order to improve demographics of any country. These are the people who generally avoid social contact much less talk to members of opposite sex. I don't follow Japanese politics, but implicating NEETs in their demographic problems seems completely out of touch.

nemo1618 10y ago

It's not what they want to do. If you want a sobering view into the life of a hikki, browse wizchan for a few hours. These are not happy people.

sotojuan 10y ago
Eh... Wizardchan is a special place. First of all, it's not Japanese—most of the users there are American or European. Second, forums have a culture and tone. If curious people see posters be angry and mad at society, they will either join in because they share the same values, or go somewhere else. So basically Wizardchan could be considered a subset of NEETs that are angry and sad. But in the end, I do agree most NEETs aren't happy. I think when we hear "not working or studying" we tend to think "vacation", not depression/loneliness/being ill.

IANAD 10y ago

I'm an introvert and tend toward reclusion, but still think that reclusion can be bad. We should interact with others to help them and to be helped IRL.

adrianm 10y ago

I don't think reclusiveness is the problem per se. These individuals are either fully or partially dependent on family or the government for the basic necessities.

mattnumbe 10y ago

This is much more than just being introverted or working a job that has little social interaction. This is complete withdraw from society. Many of these people don't even use the internet for communication. They don't go outside. Usually a parent takes care of them but never sees them. Their care taker leaves their meals at their bedroom door and walks away. It's incredibly sad.

meowface 10y ago

Out of curiosity, what's your job?

nostrebored 10y ago

Because being solitary for too long has been shown to have adverse effects on your mental health and is correlated with being unhealthy. As someone who has done what you're doing I can say unequivocally that I regret every minute of it and wish that I could've spent that time actually connecting with people.

nradov 10y ago

Have you checked your vitamin D level lately?

davesque 10y ago

If you're honestly happy doing that, I would agree and say there's nothing wrong with it.