3 ms·
From what I've read and heard I've always seen them as partial shut ins or at least deeply alienated with friends online only. I think the deeper similarity tha
by api 8y ago
From what I've read and heard I've always seen them as partial shut ins or at least deeply alienated with friends online only. I think the deeper similarity that I see is "young men who feel completely rejected or without a place in the culture." My understanding of the superficial aspects may indeed be wrong.
- claudiawerner 8y agoThere's a lot of interesting cultural work going on with the phenomenon of otaku and their relationship to media in Japan, and some of it's inspiring for research in the West too. Patrick Galbraith explores the lolicon phenomenon, for instance. What gets to me most is when people treat them with derision or contempt or buzzwords to dismiss their problems, plight, and twisted as it may seem to us, way of life. I genuinely think that many hikkikomori or otaku have a more refined appreciation of the fictional world than those who must live day to day in the real world.