Re: Hikikomori: Why are so many Japanese men refusing to leave their rooms?

[Robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

 > From: Flora  <http://profiles.yahoo.com/flora>
 > Date: Sun, 7 Jul 2013 17:54:34 -0700 (PDT)
 >
 > No, I didn't hear this.Very thought provoking. I think that because of the 
 > internet, it will happen more and more. 

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori , it was identified
before the internet.  But, most of the literature is after the arrival of
the internet; so, it's hard to tell.

 > In regards to the story, I think that Americans are a lot more individualist 
 > than in Japan. We are more about pleasing ourselves than our families, but this 
 > disconnection can still occur. We have our cars and the internet. I can drive 
 > to work and drive home, but never have any personal interaction besides my 
 > family and workmates. I can live a very isolated life. I know that people in 
 > our town aren't as dependent on each other compared to a time when people 
 > around here farmed for their existence. 
 > 
 > I see a lot of disconnection in society. Our town's Rally Day (kind of like Old 
 > Home Day) will no longer exist because no one wants to organize the event. I 
 > guess nobody feels that it's that important to celebrate the community of our 
 > town. It's sad, but I don't feel that I would be capable of organizing a town 
 > wide event like that. We have attended every year since we moved here in 2006 
 > and the attendance appears to have dropped off. Now this - no more Rally Day. 
 > Our town as a community doesn't seem that important.

Well, I do have to say that someone should at least rename the holiday.
"Rally" sounds like a football game or a war or something.

 > There may be triggers for becoming withdrawn, but our society design can 
 > contribute to the avoidance of social contact. We have our cars, our internet, 
 > we have few sidewalks and porches, and we don't rely on our neighbors for our 
 > welfare.
 > 
 > I usually listen to about 20 minutes of the World Update on the BBC in the 
 > morning before I go to work. The BBC is broadcast on our local NPR station 
 > during the night hours, until 6am. There were a lot of programming changes on 
 > Vermont Public Radio (VPR). The BBC remains, though. Unfortunately, they 
 > eliminated my favorite program Living on Earth. When I complained, I was told 
 > that I could listen to it online. It's just not the same.

I think there would be a big uproar if our station tried to eliminate
Living on Earth here.

 > Thank you for sharing this story. I couldn't figure out how to listen to the 
 > audio, though.

It just popped up on their podcast.  You can pick it up at

 http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/healthc/healthc_20130708-1202a.mp3

Get it quickly, 'tho -- I think they only keep their stories up for 30
days.