The phenomenon of hikikomoriborn in Japan in the eighties and nineties, it is no longer a phenomenon limited to the Japanese archipelago: this term refers to people, mainly teenagers and young adults, which yes isolated from the outside world For a prolonged time and refuse social contacts. Over the past two decades, hikikomori has spread well Beyond the Asian borderstaking on different characteristics according to the cultural context. Today, in fact, there are cases not only in Japan, but also in Europe, Latin America and even in Middle Eastern countriesdemonstrating a transformation in a global sense.
The phenomenon in Italy and the “new” countries involved
In Italythe estimates speak of about 50,000 certified caseswith some sources that double the number up to 100,000. Unlike the Japanwhere the phenomenon was initially associated with school and work pressure, in the Italian context weighs more the size of the retreat due to episodes of bullying, social exclusion and existential precariousness. There Spainon the other hand, recorded Extreme episodes of isolationwith people who remained closed in the house for decades, while in China The percentage of young people withdrawn exceeds 6%, a figure that reflects the combination of very high school expectations, family control and scarcity of spaces of youth autonomy.
This heterogeneity indicates that hikikomori is not a “Cultural Product” exclusively Japanese, but a form of social response to structural conditions common to globalized companies: competitive pressure, fragmentation of traditional communities and new methods of socialization mediated by digital.
Causes and triggering factors
The causes leading to social isolation vary significantly according to the context. In the countries of theEastern Asialike Japan And South Koreaschool and professional competition represents a central element: the academic or work failure It is perceived as a stigma that is difficult to recover, and for many young people the retreat becomes a “protection” choice compared to the judgment of society.
In Europeon the other hand, to affect are more dynamics related to bullyingal racismat difficulty of integration and growing urban solitude. In Latin AmericaOn the contrary, the phenomenon is intertwined with economic instability and youth unemployment, which feeds the feeling of impotence and the loss of perspectives.
This diversity of factors leads to training of very different profiles: there are teenagers who suddenly interrupt the school and retire to the room; young adults who fail in the transition to the work world and remain blocked in a domestic limbo; and middle -aged adults who have spent this years in isolation that they can no longer imagine their reinstatement.
There economic question It is one of the most enigmatic and delicate nodes of the hikikomori phenomenon. In Japanmost of those who live in isolation do not work and do not have their own income: daily survival is guaranteed almost exclusively by family support. Parents cover the costs of food, accommodation and consumer goods, actually transforming themselves into the main social safety net.
This model, however, is fragile as it depends on the aging of the population that feeds the so -called “problem 80-50”: Elderly parents (80) they keep adult children (50) without any perspective of autonomy.
Responses to the phenomenon and innovative therapeutic approaches
The responses to the phenomenon are heterogeneous and reflect the differences of Welfare systems. In South Koreawere born Community houses designed as transition spaceswhere young people in isolation can live together, follow therapeutic paths and gradually regain social and work skills. In France and in ItalyInstead, it is preferred to focus more on the involvement of families: Psycho-education interventions aim to transform the domestic context, which often proves to be ambivalent. Parallel, they are emerging Innovative approaches that use the technologies as mediation tools. In Brazilfor example, are experienced Therapeutic video games designed to stimulate progressive interaction, while in Japan And Korea they are testing themselves applications of virtual reality that simulate social environmentsallowing subjects to gradually face the fear of contact with the other.
These tools show how the technologyoften perceived as the cause of isolationmay also be part of the solution.
