Ask HN: Scientific/Social Research on Social-Withdrawal/Isolation? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Scientific/Social Research on Social-Withdrawal/Isolation?

2 pointsrramadass2 comments

The most well known form of Social-Withdrawal/Isolation is "Hikikomori". Though it first rose to infamy in Japan (perhaps due to their unique cultural norms) it is a Worldwide Social Phenomenon which i feel is being exacerbated due to Social Media/Gaming/Internet usage. Autism and Depression may also be relevant factors here.

Does anybody know of any comprehensive studies (Biological/Genetic/Psychological/Neuroscience/Social/Cultural etc.) being done on this disorder? Are there any researchers here who are studying this subject? What are the different forms of manifestations of this disorder eg. "Tang Ping(aka Lie Flat)" and "Bai Lan(aka Let it Rot)" phenomenon from China?

Note that i am not just asking about extreme social-isolation but a spectrum of what could be considered as pathological social-isolation detrimental both to the individual and society at large.

And finally what are the remedies shown to work as a cure?

> And finally what are the remedies shown to work as a cure?

If a "cure" worked, we'd know of it by now. A lot of the people engaged in tang ping and the Sampo generation genuinely believe that the conditions of their existence are hopeless. You can make them more functional, encourage them to start a family or whatever, but fundamentally I do not think these people will be happy unless the society they participate in improves. Worse yet, many of them are probably correct and do not lead financially or emotionally stable enough lives to participate in the world like society expects them to.

I suspect that there isn't any one unified theory of why/how people give up in this way. Rehabilitating the next generation's youth might first necessitate fixing the local economy and giving them something to work for.

We are complex adaptive organisms embedded in a dynamic environment; hence the environment changes us in response to which we change the environment and the cycle continues. In the case of social-isolation it seems to me this cycle becomes a downward spiral leading to actual biological changes in ourselves which may also be exacerbated by genetic and/or preexisting factors. Google search brings up a bunch of papers/studies but i can find nothing comprehensive which looks at all aspects. Note that there is some cure (but obviously not 100%) and seems to involve social,psychological,medicinal approaches used together under competent supervision.

References:

1) Finding the Biological Roots for the Pathological Social Withdrawal Known as ‘Hikikomori’ - https://neurosciencenews.com/hikikomori-social-withdrawal-bi...

2) Autism Spectrum, Hikikomori Syndrome and Internet Gaming Disorder: Is There a Link? - https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/7/1116

3) Hikikomori: A Scientometric Review of 20 Years of Research - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10177810/

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