2.08.2004

Teen hermits: "America is at risk of becoming an Acute Social Withdrawal nation - inward-looking and very cold to outsiders," says Jerry Koepp, a volunteer youth director in an Orlando-based rehabilitation program sponsored by the American Health Association (AHA). "It is simply a consequence of a social system that has collapsed. As more and more of our young people refuse to assimilate into mainstream culture and reject our core values, the more likely we are to follow in Japan's footsteps. I think the number of Acute Social Withdrawal will increase exponentially in the years ahead."

Acute Social Withdrawal, either a medical condition or a social phenomenon (researchers aren't in agreement), is defined as "a complete withdrawal from society by an individual for more than six months." In the US in 2002, there were more than 5,200 reported cases of young people, mainly boys between 16 and 20, holing up in their bedrooms; in Japan, the rates are much higher, with one million kids affected by the disorder.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That information is false. It comes from a BS source that isn't even listed at the address it gives on the site. The American Health Association is a discount health care plan. There are hardly any hikikomori in America.

Anonymous said...

I just read about Hikomori, and I dint know that just until now. and I'm suffering with it, I don't know why I isolate myself from people but I feel pressured all the time, I sleep all day and just wake up at night, and when summer starts I gradually disconnect myself from my friends and just stay in my room. I just go to school for the heck of it even if I feel a squishing feeling in my chest to always do good. BTW Im from Illinois