Let’s Stay In
22nd May 2023
In Japan, social withdrawal among young men is now so severe that the Japanese have a very specific term for it: hikikomori. Hiki means “to withdraw,” and komori means “to remain inside.” At least 1.5 million Japanese people, many of whom are young men in their twenties and thirties, have completely withdrawn from society.
They don’t date; they don’t mate; they don’t work; and they don’t socialize. In short, they refrain from doing anything that requires them to leave their hyper-isolated chambers.
Many of these young males are hurting—financially, spiritually, and psychologically.
Up until very recently, hikikomori was considered a culture-bound syndrome, a problem unique to Japan. That is no longer the case. Hikikomori is now a global phenomenon, observed across the world regardless of culture—from Asia to Europe to the United States.
Huh. I didn’t know this was an option.