The Many Faces of Social Withdrawal in Hikikomori

This paper discusses socially withdrawn youths’ posts on an internet forum. We explore their situation and ask what challenges are preventing them to participate into society. We use the capability approach as our viewpoint, wanting to pinpoint the youths’ realized capabilities to join in and feel included, as opposed to the opportunity’s society provides them. Problems with mental health, autism spectrum disorders, social anxieties and frustration towards society were identified as reasons for social withdrawal, indicating that the participants do not feel like their skills and persona is appreciated by the society.