I've been a hikikomori - or rather, a quasi-hikikomori (because I usually like being around people very much) - since 2020 due to the pandemic (which, from a scientific point of view, is still ongoing as not much has changed since the outbreak, but let's not get into that).
However, what intrigues me the most is how the concept of hikikomori relates to sōshoku-kei 草食系, or 'herbivore men', whom I've recently learned about. Are these two phenomena partially associated with each other? Do they overlap in some ways?
I think back in the early 2000s, hikikomori and herbivore men were thought about by critics in similar ways. Both looked like a rejection of Japanese values: sociability, hard work, bringing up a family. To people who were more sympathetic, both seemed to be the product of a society that couldn't provide decent career prospects anymore.
I've been a hikikomori - or rather, a quasi-hikikomori (because I usually like being around people very much) - since 2020 due to the pandemic (which, from a scientific point of view, is still ongoing as not much has changed since the outbreak, but let's not get into that).
However, what intrigues me the most is how the concept of hikikomori relates to sōshoku-kei 草食系, or 'herbivore men', whom I've recently learned about. Are these two phenomena partially associated with each other? Do they overlap in some ways?
I think back in the early 2000s, hikikomori and herbivore men were thought about by critics in similar ways. Both looked like a rejection of Japanese values: sociability, hard work, bringing up a family. To people who were more sympathetic, both seemed to be the product of a society that couldn't provide decent career prospects anymore.