Hikikomori - Staying In All Day Playing Video Games

jitsmonkey

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Why is someone playing video games
or preferring their own company over others "giving up on life"?
there are assumptions there you probably should examine.

I don't think they're superior I simply think they're passing the time as they see fit.

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. -Albert Camus

Hikikomori is just one option.

There is an excellent argument to be made that the culture itself is incredibly mad and for those not willing to drink the poisoned water
various "anti/a-social" behaviors are the only option.

There are certainly those who are struggling with mental illness and need help
but there are also those not struggling at all just doing their thing.
My point is the behavior isn't indicative of a problem necessarily.
In some/many cases its indicative of an awareness many wrapped up in the culture
are unaware of.

The Wise King
BY KAHLIL GIBRAN
Once there ruled in the distant city of Wirani a king who was both
mighty and wise. And he was feared for his might and loved for
his wisdom.

Now, in the heart of that city was a well, whose water was cool and
crystalline, from which all the inhabitants drank, even the king
and his courtiers; for there was no other well.

One night when all were asleep, a witch entered the city, and poured
seven drops of strange liquid into the well, and said, “From this
hour he who drinks this water shall become mad.”

Next morning all the inhabitants, save the king and his lord
chamberlain, drank from the well and became mad, even as the witch
had foretold.

And during that day the people in the narrow streets and in the
market places did naught but whisper to one another, “The king is
mad. Our king and his lord chamberlain have lost their reason.
Surely we cannot be ruled by a mad king. We must dethrone him.”

That evening the king ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the
well. And when it was brought to him he drank deeply, and gave it
to his lord chamberlain to drink.

And there was great rejoicing in that distant city of Wirani,
because its king and its lord chamberlain had regained their reason.


The Wise King by Kahlil Gibran
 

Tarmander

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Giant debts, no population growth, total order. There is nothing to grip people's hearts, so why go out.
 
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johnwester130

johnwester130

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why have they decided life is pointless but everyone else hasn't ?

is it all to do with dopamine and the reward system ?
 

jitsmonkey

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Why do you assume someone who prefers their own company ha's given up on life and thinks it's pointless?
 

Luann

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People who aren't healthy dealing with a culture that's not healthy in a way that isn't healthy.

See lots of this here too.
 

Luann

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Sorry, i guess that came off a bit preachy.

I don't know what they what they should do.
 

X3CyO

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All the peat problems;

Outside or inside environment? It looks like both. Bad food, enabling/stressful environment.

Majority of isolation comes today due to technology.

Choosing to play videogames for me, for example was my original crutch.

Now I only play when friends are around in person severely cutting the hours I played down. But. that was only after months of following peats teachings, and forcefully changing up my schedule.



I think computers and screens in general really do shut down the brain at a certain point no matter the content though.
I think it happens at the hour or 45min mark, that theres an exponential decrease in ones ability to get off any screen without getting sucked into another distraction until some other physical reaction pulls you away, like sleep, food, bathroom break, or youve played for many many hours. Especially if youve been conditioned from a young age to allow oneself to fall into this trap.
I think this is similar to porn addiction but its all the same starting point.

I still catch myself saying ill play with my bro for 30min and end up playing 3 hours or so.
I used to game since I was 7 though so I cant say if its the same for others.

From seeing my social friends though, and the amount of time they spend on social media... its all the same I think.

I cant remember the quote exactly. Maybe it was peat, but it was about the physical reflection of myopia in particular mirroring the psychological effects as well.

I recently started putting my phone in my bag rather than my pocket and keeping my laptop off my lap, and started noticing what id assume is radiation coming from off my phone at times.
Could just be psychological. Havnt noticed the same feeling from the laptop. Have noticed a stronger sensation from microwaves though.
That kind of radiation may also play a role in that sort of brain foggy feeling that people get after binging on tech.

Speculation.

A lot of these people also sleep poorly and stay up late with little sun exposure. The lack of sleep could be addicting in a certain way since it raises dopamine.
 

DaveFoster

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Hikikomori - Wikipedia

What do you think causes this ?

Why would someone give up on life ?

Are these people actually superior to everyone else ?

Is this the way we are meant to live >
Similar physiological adaptations that cause autism can lead to anti-sociality.

It takes a tremendous amount of energy to socialize, and any necessary stress response (to "prop up" the organism to meet the demands of face-to-face interaction) generates anxiety.

Some say too much, and many not enough, yet there's only a marginal group of people who say just the right amount at the proper time.
 
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johnwester130

johnwester130

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Similar physiological adaptations that cause autism can lead to anti-sociality.

It takes a tremendous amount of energy to socialize, and any necessary stress response (to "prop up" the organism to meet the demands of face-to-face interaction) generates anxiety.

Some say too much, and many not enough, yet there's only a marginal group of people who say just the right amount at the proper time.

is there an evolutionary advantage to autism ?

or is it a natural response to an un-natural environment ?
 
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InChristAlone

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I found this fascinating so I watched this video about it:

I thought it went into the cultural stuff very well.

So from that I would say it is shutdown. A survival response from yrs of having to suppress emotion and go along with the status quo. In that video he talks about how in Japan you have to put on a happy face and always be polite and you can start to lose yourself in the 12 hrs work days as they are a culture of hard work and perfectionism.

I can relate. Sometimes I really hate our society. Other times I want to fit in. Growing up it's all about conformity. Especially in public schools. So I unschool my kids. They will not have anything of the authoritarianism of schooling. They will learn who they are and what they want to do with their lives, not what society says they should do.
 

DaveFoster

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is there an evolutionary advantage to autism ?

or is it a natural response to an un-natural environment ?
All "advantages" become so only temporarily to increase fitness in a particular context.
 
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i remember playing resident evil and metal gear solid and 4hours feels just 30minutes....

But after 7hours i felt the need to eat.....

Playing all day = eye strain...

I love the suspense of the game...
 

DaveFoster

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What will America do when 50% of children have autism in 30 years time ?
By then, there will probably be "universal basic income" with automation for most jobs involving repetitive manual tasks. Antidepressants will be comparable to coffee in terms of social acceptance.
 
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johnwester130

johnwester130

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By then, there will probably be "universal basic income" with automation for most jobs involving repetitive manual tasks. Antidepressants will be comparable to coffee in terms of social acceptance.

and when half your population have alzheimers ? and obesity ?
 

DaveFoster

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and when half your population have alzheimers ? and obesity ?
WALL-E-382.jpg
 

bdawg

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why have they decided life is pointless but everyone else hasn't ?

is it all to do with dopamine and the reward system ?

The dopamine system was evolutionary designed for exploration and survival which a lot of these video games simulate and therefore provide false positives for our dopamine system to reward.

I'm a gamer myself, particularly prone to it due to untreated lifelong ADHD, and waste a lot of time on it. But I consider shallow social interaction over drinks to also be a similar dopamine timesink. At least the latter expands your perspective and gives you social skills however. Whereas video games only make you good at video games

Hypothetically, an optimal dopamine system rewards us for things that actually benefit our situation in the modern world but our evolutionary software is dated

Re Japan, as others have noted, the strain on the youth and economy no doubt play a part translating to low youth home-ownership and fertility and does not provide many options when it comes to getting dat dopamine
 
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johnwester130

johnwester130

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The dopamine system was evolutionary designed for exploration and survival which a lot of these video games simulate and therefore provide false positives for our dopamine system to reward.

I'm a gamer myself, particularly prone to it due to untreated lifelong ADHD, and waste a lot of time on it. But I consider shallow social interaction over drinks to also be a similar dopamine timesink. At least the latter expands your perspective and gives you social skills however. Whereas video games only make you good at video games

Hypothetically, an optimal dopamine system rewards us for things that actually benefit our situation in the modern world but our evolutionary software is dated

interesting

if they had autism, what would be the evolutionary reason for that ?

what does autism protect and serve you for ?? It makes no sense.
 

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