Hikikomori: Japan's Modern Day Hermits

Hikikomori are individuals who will isolate for months, years or even decades, and it affects over a million people in Japan. In this video, find out more about Hikikomori, what causes them to isolate for such long periods, and why it's such an issue, particularly in Japan.
If you feel isolated or lonely, you can contact
Samaritans (UK) 116 123
TellJP (Japan) 03 5774 0992
#anime #school #technology

[@ROANOKE01]

Hey everyone - just wanted to address those commenting who say they either relate or are currently experiencing the same problem as discussed in the video. Firstly, thank you for being brave enough to comment in the first place. I sincerely hope you found some comfort in my video or in the comments. You are not alone. There is help out there, if you need it. Contact Samaritans, TellJP or your local mental health charity organisation - these people will listen without judgement. ROANOKE

[@jryxless7022]

Nowadays, not only in japan, linear with technological and internet development all around the world, this such phenomenon could be found near us. Great video btw.

[@outcast8683]

True, I'm from india, i spend most of my time home. I know of a guy who's just like a hikikomori but goes to college. i have tried my best to get him out but he never chages, one day i couldn't take it anymore and decided not to talk to him anymore. Now i have like 2 friends( don't know for how long). I usually go out unlike others tbh, my parents restricted everything from internet to Money. My situation tends to get me out of my house. But if i had a choice i would stay home all the time. They clearly misunderstood me thinking i was just pretending to be like this so i don't have to study and can lead a easy life. Don't know if hikikomori is the right word i would use, Neet is also something i can relate to but only to a certain extend.

[@fudomyoo9762]

I’m American and I’ve become this way.

[@douglasjordan5653]

Not certain if you'd call me a hikikomori but....I work over night stocking shelves...seeing no one...go how while it's still night....and stay in my room until the next day...again seeing no one...I haven't actually had a conversation in 5 years,

[@malu5117]

​@@fudomyoo9762 me too 😢

[@forsaken7161]

being at home is the best

[@RobyHaw]

I moved to Japan for work and also intended to try and grow a youtube channel. I was full of optimism at first but 4 months in living here, I find myself more and more inclined to shy away for society as well. I’m now going for 6 and that downward spiral is realizing more and more..it’s depressing.. I’m still trying though to break out of this low state but it’s just the vibe and energy of the environment here. People just don’t wanna be bothered..it’s hard to make friends.

[@DeSpereaux_]

I hope you get the mix right, friend, really..

[@Qwuiet]

I hope you are feeling better

[@DutchPlanDerLindeFromTahiti]

Please don't fall into this rabbit hole, it is not worth it.. Keep it up and enjoy life's goods and not it's bads

[@IcecoldLulu]

Hikikomori has spread outside of Japan since it is something that many people have identified as this.

[@jacobperez8921]

Yup! i used to be sort of a hikikomori, i still held a minimum wage job after high school and interacted with people but since i sucked at school and i never found my true goal in life, i never really took college or even life in general serious and i would just go home after work and play video games for the rest of my day. Now in my 30's, i am slowly creeping out of this terrible lifestyle since it's not a healthy and productive one and i actually want to have my own family one day. This hikikomori problem is definitely present outside of Japan as the world becomes more digital and isolated.

[@mneech609]

@@jacobperez8921 I'd kind of like to be a hikikomori. Sounds comfy.

[@ReeseGreyAnalyzes]

So sad that people can be pushed into such anxiety & not even feel like they can reach out for help. Also, congrats on the 1k 💕

[@Samuraisaac]

Killed it with this one, always interesting to learn about these kinds of things

[@Draxev]

ello

[@Samuraisaac]

I want you back Roanoke):

[@himanshusharma1414]

It's been Seven months i've not stepped outside my home! I do light exercise, sit under sun on terrace & take healthy diet but i had no social interaction with anybody other thn my parents in a long time.

[@scottporter4524]

Welcome to the NHK is the best anime about a hikikomori. I relate to that anime so much, I absolutely love it.

[@diatsus2861]

I think if you include people who only go straight to work out of obligation, never socialize at work, and go straight home until the next time they are forced to work; this percentage would be much higher.

[@billyairline9205]

In 2020 after loosing my job i decided to become a hikikomori and shut in for over 3 years

[@msarilyn7677]

Even though I don't live in Japan this issue effects me as well!

[@jacobperez8921]

Same here. This issue is affecting the whole world mostly in developed countries.

[@UTP_ENT]

I relate to this so much besides the financial aspect, I do go to work but I work in construction and get to zone out most the time but I spend my nights and weekends in my room alone. It would be nice to be social but it’s also nice not having any drama

[@douglasjordan5653]

I work over night stocking...alone...seeing no one...go home while it's still dark....stay in my room writing reading watching movies sleeping until the next day ....I see no one...I haven't actually had a conversation in 5 years

[@raheem2845]

​@@douglasjordan5653 oh thats harsh, I don't talk to many people either. We can talk if you'd like.

[@musettedybala9557]

This isn’t just a Japan problem. We might have the opposite ideology as we seen to value individuality and independence, but we still cause the same reclusion of people who can’t live up to these societal standards. We have hikikimori too, we just don’t notice.

[@Scarshadow666]

Sadly true. A lot of people underestimate that, even if a society gravitates towards individualism and advertises itself as being accepting/tolerant, that does not mean absolutely everyone really does get accepted, since individualism can be celebrated but depends on the levels of cognitive dissonance in society and how far straying out of societal norms goes before it's considered too far. It also depends on the levels of moral relativity. Like how some people that close themselves off socially based off feeling if they've committed a major wrong and don't realize it's their own cognitive distortions giving them a negative feedback loop (depending on what kind of societal norms they follow). Or they have previous bad experiences societally, or just have avoidant attachment issues that they don't know where it originated from. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's something that I experience as someone that has social anxiety and trust/vulnerability issues that isn't completely to full-on hikikomori levels, but enough so that connecting with friends beyond surface levels not often possible/a struggle.

[@NeonGreenSpidey]

Definitely. I thought i would finally make friends and stuff after moving out of my conservative country. But im still… alone.

[@ufomechanic11]

Thanks for making this, Seriously i had no idea this was a thing in Japan…not to the point they created a word for depressed people. That’s so sad.

[@matthewweng8483]

This is one of, if not the most clear, concise and compassionate documentaries I've ever seen... bravo.

[@sagar11222]

People are confusing, so i choose to live alone..

[@heinmolenaar6750]

I live alone too.

[@dozer2911]

How do you not have more subscribers than this. Your content is amazing. Its narrative linked with your music choice and narration is godlike. Good shit man.

[@Chippey12]

Awesome to see you creating again! Love your videos!

[@Cytryz]

I think the clips used are very nice. I think it’s a good introductory video for those that don’t have any idea what is a hikikomori. I think the primary thing the video could use is a greater emphasis on it being a general problem seen throughout the world and perhaps most well documented in japan. Oh and also lowering the music volume slightly. Overall a good video though. Any plans on expanding upon this topic? Or is it more of a one shot

[@Niel_albatrozz]

Was a social recluse when I was 10, the only time I get to be with kids my age was in school, albeit I was bullied there. I never had any friends in our neighborhood (I was also known as the kid that never went out) and my only source of entertainment was our television. Now I'm in my twenties, still introverted but at least I go out every once in a while when I need to. The root cause of this was bullying which gave me social anxiety, made me overthink, and gave me low self-esteem, and low self-confidence.

[@heinmolenaar6750]

I think they're extremely shy and sensitive.

[@lawlessraptor1716]

Congrats on 1K! Another great video.

[@dantheman8103]

This is a really good video and the subject was interesting. Keep up the great work. I really found this video a good watch.

[@yerdenizliyim]

what a video and what a great channel to discover, keep up with good job my friend

[@user-bs2rc5bk6m]

most underrated youtuber please don’t stop

[@Jaron089]

Idk why but i love your videos they are so calm i just love it

[@vivacristorey4363]

I relate to this very much. I am lucky to have people who are understanding. I try to attend daily Mass because it is the one thing that gets me out of the house each day. But then I am often glued to the screen for the rest of the day. And when the anxiety gets really bad I start to miss daily Mass and then a week is gone before I know it. People say "can't you get a job" as if I were avoiding work on purpose. I am ashamed to be unemployed and have trouble explaining to people why I don't have a job. It is the constant rejection and feeling that I will get fired even if I get hired that keeps me from trying at times. The internet makes it easier to escape and not face my fears. It is like a cheap drug that I am addicted to. When I do finally go to a social situation, most of real interactions end up feeling boring because of being used to the fast pace of anime. I am in a self destructive way of life and don't know how to get out. I know that if I were starving then necessity would make me try harder. But I'm not starving and so that motivation slips away.

[@samaelsahnuzal2632]

Once you've get use to being alone it's addicting plus the bullying, domestic violence, and technology.

[@Ludwis]

I can absolutely relate to all this issues.

[@simp2234]

Bullying is a big one

[@marvinth.5540]

Im really enjoying your vids man keep I hope you keep up the good work

[@rockeastwood]

Your channel is dope. Shiey video got me here but this video got me to stay. You're going places. Keep it up.

[@danielengland6896]

Congrats on 1k subs 🎉

[@SichillisR6]

You gotta come back just found these videos but they are all underrated as hell

[@terryfrdl]

absolutely in love with this content

[@Efrozamaurice]

good content man, love it

[@genehen6495]

Just wanted to expand on something that's a little wrong - being Hikikomori IS more complex than Agoraphobia, but agorophobia is not "simply a fear of public spaces". It's not some weird little fear some people have, like being scared of a spider being in your bathroom. It's an anxiety or panic disorder of being trapped somewhere unsafe where something bad will happen and you cannot get help or take care of yourself. Imagine having a painful and sudden digestive disability, but you're caught in traffic, or walking in the city, and don't know where the nearest toilet is. The pain inside your body gets worse and worse every second until you can't walk or drive safely - and this can happen weekly or even daily. Imagine being abused by a group of people while on public transport - they've already made you miss your stop, you don't know where you are going and nobody is bothering to help you. Imagine your shitty parent kicks you out of the car in the middle of a boiling summer, so you have to walk home in the afternoon heat - and when you get home all the doors and windows are locked so you can't get in, leaving you out in the dark with the summer bugs eating your sweat. Any of these situations will make you "scared of public spaces". They make you too anxious to leave the house, leave your safe space. When people hear of Agoraphobia they think "ha, how weird, are they scared of big rooms or something? Like people who are scared of clowns?" It's more like trauma. Enough shitty things have happened to me when I am out and unable to properly care for myself that I'd rather be at home, even sitting in the car feels like being latched into a rollercoaster. I miss traveling.

[@DeSpereaux_]

It’s complex trauma you might say.. Sometimes I’m not aware of why I feel so anxious about public spaces, then the closer I get to a trigger the more the anxiety kicks in, but I rarely-encounter my triggers because I’ve manifested behaviour to avoid it. When people ask me why I have a phobia I can’t usually answer, because the behaviour isn’t the distress, it’s a ward from distress. I live the behaviour, so I explain it well, but I don’t live the distress.. eventually it just leads to people dismissing me as a fool, it’s complex to identify, and it’s complex because it’s comprised of a multitude of sub-coped-with experiences.. Pile a neurological-condition over-the-top of it and the root-ball is too-intense to analyse or fix, it requires a heroic-effort on the part of the sufferer, often with barely-noticeable gains. The longer you have had to deal with it, the greater the developmental gap too, so you end up with a four-or-five dimensional problem. Once people recognise the extend of the problem they tend trivialise it so they don’t have to give you concessions..:/

[@ClayMastah344]

Great intro and narration

[@dom_krust6238]

thank you for this greatmade and interesting view

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

found this video again... long time no video. hope whatever you're doing rn you're doing good.

[@DnVFMVs]

thanks for make this more known

[@exposingproxystalkingorgan4164]

Social anxiety and extreme avoidance issues are increasing worldwide. Society is the grinder that grinds people into dust.

[@DeSpereaux_]

Those who are brought up with traditional values are finding that their inheritance, the legacies of left by their forebears, has been ground to dust by society, also. There’s no precedent to call upon nor is there a manual to follow for the new order of things. There is no stability or security for those of us who are not guided by impulse and disagreeableness. When we try to suspend ourselves in such an unnatural way, we find very quickly that the mask/compensation/ camouflage can only be held for so long. The order of community priority has to change. It’s just not responsible to afford opportunity and care only to the mighty. It’s not okay to move on to greener pastures and leave problems to fester; instead of fixing the broken windows and seeking to understand how to prevent future breaks. Hikikomori are broken people, leaving them broken will only incentivise the breaking of more people.. not safeguarding atypical people in a changing and typical world will only raise the risk of a break. It’s takes a community to raise a child and a community to uphold its citizenry and a community to name its monsters. It’s time to stop making unreasonable demands of our society and the humans in them; we are not perfect and we cannot fit a perfect bill. Even if some of us can cope better than others: What happens when the atypical meat shield is spent and the task-orientated, competitive cancer that our society has become metastasises around us? What will we have to defend ourselves, having omitted from understanding for so long and having flippantly spent any buffer we had? If you cannot save yourself, who will save you? Because I can assure you that the beast will only get bigger and what is sown will be reaped..

[@waywardYT]

well made video, learned a lot

[@ChinoThe70]

Was a good watch 🙌🏽

[@turtletavern_4859]

are you going to continue to make content? Love your videos, hope to see another video soon :D

[@gieanmossmann3942]

This is happening to me right now , I lost my job I feel like with drawing from society I am becoming hikkikumori

[@tylerramos7633]

Shit I wish I could figure out a way to never leave the house

[@sebbo_h7121]

I understand the reasons as i felt them personally and vividly in the past, but i could never live like this, my brain would just implode, and this is kind of a lucky thing tbh, i feel so bad for them. I hope that whoever is reading my comment, written in a broken english at 2 am, will feel better tomorrow, or in general in the future, there's people out there that can help you, never forget that :)

[@DeSpereaux_]

It’s not broken, thanks man..:)

[@salaminzaghi]

Yeah, sometimes I also want to be a Hikikomori. I'm lazy to interact with people. I just want to live with my computer, my PlayStation, eat, drink, and shower. But if I stay in my room all the time, I won't be able to make money. Does anyone know how Hikikomori can make money?

[@NoOne-ix7dg]

Some dies from hunger; tis not a joke, but tragic reality

[@konstantinrebrov675]

Online fully remote jobs.

[@doughlausprashaal7151]

I'm looking for jobs either online or offline and I'd like to take this path too Like i want to go out only if I have too and alone otherwise i wish the same a job from home my room my computer my PlayStation that's enough

[@waedjradi]

Man, this is sad. They want to socialize but they cannot, neurologically. Their brains won't let them. So it is like they are trapped in their bodies.

[@johnmiller5777]

Good stuff 👍

[@lilithofthenight1991]

I AM A HIKIKOMORI FOR ALMOST 8 YEARS AND I ONLY GO TO WORK .. AND SHOPPING ONCE A YEAR 🙆🏻‍♀️📆🧘🏻‍♀️

[@user_6687]

WoW 😲😳😳

[@graysontatters5068]

whats the anime at 1:23 with the boy writing at night?

[@Mart77]

Lucky guys that can live with their parents for free. I have distanced myself from regular life and just exist alone, only thing i do is sleep and watch movies. I feel like i am not good enough for anything that modern society requires. Nothing brings me joy anymore and whatever i try to do to improve my situation ends up in utter failure. Life feels like it's all about having fun for few years in the kindergarten and then it's 70 years of constant suffering. Only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is the fact that if i'd get fired from work i'd be starving and homeless in 2 months... Just kind of trying to keep hanging on until the end. I actually look forward to it, i can't even imagine how many times i've thought about ending it myself.

[@DeSpereaux_]

Perhaps you’ve stumbling upon your own solution their brother, perhaps the idea of voluntary play is what gave your you best memories. Perhaps you’d benefit from finding a challenge that you want to complete, it may end up being a reason to get you out of bed, but in a good way..🤔

[@619AGT]

@@DeSpereaux_Amen brother. Amen

[@mandy8218]

Nice voice ❤️. I'm from Brazil and i spend my time at home, i don't like to get out of my room and my job is home office

[@NobodyNobody-ko6dl]

Is very very very sad but must be like that

[@matthewglenguir7204]

Hope u return one day

[@osamakhan2490]

it's feels like he is talking about my i dont known how to come over it but i'm trying my best 😊

[@turtletavern_4859]

oi, waiting for new vids over here ya know

[@theasianjaywalker4455]

This is a phenom that might keep traveling around the world. I suspect Japan went into this phenom earlier and deeper as their culture is sort of made to tolerate and accept it and they experienced peculiar demographics and economic timing. In China a parallel 'laying flat' kind of subculture developed and I've also seen this occurring in parts of SE Asia and interestingly more often among girls and women. Where you're less likely to hear about this can be Vietnam and Thailand which are 2 East Asian nations with 1) newly booming economies 2) still in modernization and newly developing nations 3) growing populations. I don't think Vietnamese or Thais have this as a 'thing' that would have a 'name' nor, as best I can tell, Mexicans wouldn't have this as a 'thing' with a name as a known 'social phenom' in their world. So there is that.

[@chrono5220]

Does anyone know the anime at 4:52? Looks really interesting!!

[@freerights6695]

It's called Weathering With You, or Tenki No Ko. It's a really good movie with amazing visuals; one of my favourites. The director (Makoto Shinkai) also directed Your Name, which you might've heard of, and another newer movie called Suzume No Tojimari, which came out late last yearf

[@AKFGinstrumental]

"it only becomes an problem once they stop getting money" capitalism is sad isnt it?

[@outcast8683]

Without money you can't live, it doesn't matter if you're hikikomori or not.

[@DeSpereaux_]

Yeah, the rich ones are called eccentric..

[@unknown-xe8lw]

This is my fear

[@gordonbgraham]

#5 affordable housing with one room apartments in Tokyo for as little as ¥30,000 ($300) a month

[@Chinaman-gw6ts]

1:08 what anime is this?

[@ROANOKE01]

Your Name ☄️

[@mandy8218]

Your name is great anime movie ❣️

[@DivisionOne_Dalton615]

I really think if people can just work and stay at home it shouldn't be seen as something wrong....some people are just like that

[@deeeeniiiiss]

A lot of these people usually live of the government or their parents

[@Restless_Vibes27]

this is my life...

[@___-xf5dj]

+

[@pendoravo417]

based

[@heinmolenaar6750]

My life too.

[@DigitalDistortion]

They used movie footage from the animes "Your Name" & "Weathering With You"

[@birdsamora9925]

I’ll try to have sympathy

[@syahmirai]

Roanoke, where are you?

[@JadeTheAdventurer]

Me doing the Omori hikkikomori route rn: 0-0

[@wcrow2130]

i understand these cats completely they see themselves as their own ghost in the scam.

[@shreyansengupta2594]

2:00 what's the anime?

[@ROANOKE01]

5 Centimeters Per Second 🌨

[@gungunrajput2342]

I don't know what to do

[@striker0603]

0:23 what animes is this?

[@user-ty1ot6jk4v]

5cm Per Second

[@TaiyouRouk]

♥

[@Vazalando]

Sou um hikikomori a cerca de 10 anos

[@pendoravo417]

based

[@rafaelsmith5737]

I'm a hikikimori but not from Japan I don't even know there's such term

[@rosesteinbusch3996]

I wonder if they actually care about helping people or if they see it as half a million workers to exploit later

[@DeSpereaux_]

I think, for the sake of sanity, we have to tell ourselves that we are doing things to make society tolerable to us, rather than the other way around.. best not to consider the other half of the truth:)

[@gungunrajput2342]

I am hokkimori from 5 years

[@heinmolenaar6750]

Where are you from honey?

[@heinmolenaar6750]

Maybe you're extremely shy and sensitive.

[@alexhodder4918]

same but for like 2

[@heinmolenaar6750]

That's hard to believe if you're from India.

[@alexhodder4918]

@@heinmolenaar6750 ?

[@ruzzo9350]

Imagine being a hikikomori in Brazil, doesn't matter your age, our mom would kick our asses outta their home!!! 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@ianyoung4460]

america too

[@oddzar7674]

whats anime at 2:10?

[@animeandgames3923]

You probably know the awnser already, but it's Words bubble up like soda pop

[@oddzar7674]

@@animeandgames3923 i did but thanks man, maybe someone else will see your helpful answer anyways

[@rajputan9032]

I think not only in Japan...i mean I'm also lil bit of hekikamori... but thanks to my parents they always force me to go in public and my religion islam that have a thing to invite and visit

[@hadesalone1546]

Overhelmed

[@hadesalone1546]

Overwhelmed

[@DeSpereaux_]

Ask for help from someone you respect, and that you trust to listen and distract you, until you are not overwhelmed.. it’ll pass.. just make sure that you don’t lose too much while it’s passing..:)

[@hadesalone1546]

@@DeSpereaux_ man I'm learning English putting words to memorize, sorry but I'm okay hahaha don't worry about me.

[@DanteKenchi]

the origin of migtow

[@hadesalone1546]

Shunning

[@TheKarachiwanderer]

How does one live in their house alone, for a decade? Internet, ramen noodles and sleep. There was a great short film by Bong Joon Ho in “Tokyo” on a life of a hikikomori.

[@monogramadikt5971]

can you really blame them for now wanting anything to do with modern society

[@ItachiUchiha-tu7ir]

Which anime at 1.38 and 2.03?

[@gabe2968]

Our biology has not evolved at the rate our environment has. In fact we are becoming so maladapted to the environment we insist on creating for ourselves, that the majority of people need therapy and medication just to tolerate the conditions. These people are unable to tolerate an adult day care centre that denies so many human needs. It's also apparent that the treatment to address this psychological distress in the populous is ineffective. The standard approach to treating this is to simply push the clients into a state where they are far more aligned with the system that caused them to be sick in the first place. Rates of success with this treatment depend on how impressionable the client is. If a client's analysis of his own experiences go beyond a filtering process of asking himself whether his thoughts or beliefs are correct by the standard of the system, then he will simply be untreatable. They're not sick, they're actually often sane. Industrialised society causes us immense psychological harm, these people give up on it

[@konstantinrebrov675]

We are supposed to live in an agrarian society, rural, comunal, family-oriented, and low tech, anprim. Just like in the Old Asia.

[@SR-kd4wi]

The only reason of this is over competitive culture of capitalism. Fuck this, I don't want to live in this dystopia.

[@Cytryz]

I can say for a fact it is not. You may have an issue with capitalism, but that does not mean every hiki does nor does it mean every hiki is living or has lived in a capitalist society.

[@kingcobra66666]

@@Cytryz I am a hiki in a communist country

[@DeSpereaux_]

I can see how you got there bud, try to make it smaller, the worlds to big a challenge for individuals. Tolkien told us that it was the everyday interactions that keep the darkest at bay. The new world order would have us forget our neighbours; our strength..

[@bidentban5282]

Welcome to Islam...the only religion can solve these problems...Islam teach you to build family and socialise.Hikikomori do not exist in Muslim country.

[@sebbo_h7121]

Bs

[@jasminealixandranorth]

No religion has ever solved any problems. In fact......religion is the cause of the majority of war, conflict, murder, and hatred since the beginning of time. Read some history of the world. Educate yourself.

[@shasthonibash5182]

I agree with that cause the praying gives the opportunity to socialize five times everday

[@bidentban5282]

@@sebbo_h7121 dear brother please do some reading/study on Islam,

[@sus527]

Nice joke lol, I'm a Muslim still hikimore(it was much worst a yr ago or 2 I've forced myself to become better now looking to change myself) no one really care at the mosque people's are busy with their own lives, but I can say my known Muslim friends were the only one who actually cared where I was not sure if it was for selfish mean but it helped me realize I have a problem