Posted on 07/27/2010 7:21:03 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
There’s always lots of opinions, but mostly it’s because people try to make it something it isn’t. It’s actually pretty simple: many people don’t like people, and in this modern world you can lead a pretty good life that way. It used to be that people who didn’t like people had to find a way to fake it, now you don’t have to.
Our society HAS the equivalent phenomenon, we just don’t freak out about it the way the Japanese do. There’s plenty of people in America that just plain aren’t interested in socializing unnecessarily, they stay home. The big difference is that Japanese culture has a drive to “fix” the outliers, while American culture has a drive to accept (sometimes by ignoring, somethings by embracing, largely depending on how entertaining they are) the outliers. Japanese culture sees someone that goes straight home from work without socializing with anybody as a problem and studies them, we see them as odd and then go do something else.
Because the “real” unemployment rate is mostly a made up stat that’s basically just doubling the published unemployment rate.
Yep, I have seen a few of them (where else, but in Japanese convenience stores, usually near the manga magazine racks). Almost seemingly oblivious to the world around them. If you struck up a conversation with them, such as "nice day", they might be staring into space through their thick coke-bottle glasses whilst picking their nose, and not even recognize you are talking to them, such it is as many have actual true social relations with other human beings outside of their family members. Sick. Truly into cyber existence only, in fantasy dream worlds.
correction: “many” = “few”
And don’t forget fear of community organizers—ACORNaphobia.
“Igoraphobia...”
That’s a good one, too!
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