Why is the hikikomori phenomenon in Japan being treated like a national crisis? Are there legitimate health concerns involved or is it more related to culture?
In: 8
Blaming this phenomenon solely on the Japanese culture is not accurate or even scientific. If it were a product of Japanese culture alone, then this would be the only culture in which we find hikikomori, and it is not. After hours of documentaries on it, my takeaway is that there are 3 contributing factors that play important roles in the outcome:
1. Society/Culture in which the young man lives
2. Parents enabling behavior
3. Hikikomori’s individual choices/reasons
I agree culture/society plays a role, as it does in many mental health cases (US included). But we need to acknowledge that these young men are being hugely enabled by their parents. In the documentaries I have seen, 100% of the hikikomori men were being completely supported financially by their parents. They lived rent free, with free unrestricted internet access, given gaming PCs or money to buy them, and also provided meals. I remember one interview subject saying he required his mother to prepare his meals and bring them to his bedroom so he wouldn’t have to eat at the table with his parents anymore-and this behavior had been going on for YEARS. This man was in his 20s, and physically healthy and was not so crippled by mental illness that he couldn’t cook his own food. He spent all his waking hours playing online games.
Personal responsibility and individual choice must also be factored in here. No one chooses to be mentally ill, but choice is involved when it comes to what you do about it. Millions of mentally ill people work jobs, get treatment, get therapy, and work really hard to either manage their symptoms or heal psychologically. The hikikomoris (for the most part) do not make these same choices. Personal responsibility should not be ignored.
Latest Answers