The Sustainability of Emerging Social Vulnerabilities: The Hikikomori Phenomenon in Southern Italy

Abstract

We can classify the Hikikomori phenomenon with the classification of “social pathology”: the Hikikomori phenomenon, and its spread in society, appear to be a real danger to the sustainability and resilience of the very society in which it occurs. This is because the social isolation of an individual, especially if young and non-independent, impacts the community of reference in human, economic and psychological terms. Therefore, an analysis that investigates the social aspects of the Hikikomori phenomenon cannot disregard the fact that it can be said to be sustainable in the community of reference within which it occurs. This, without wishing to produce a judgment on the merits of the social pathology, is relevant to assessing the capacity of that community to sustain its presence and spread and the human and social costs required to contain it. The research aims to explore the Hikikomori phenomenon in the context of Southern Italy, considering it as an emerging social vulnerability that impacts very deeply onto the sustainability of a social, economic and community systems such as the Campania region one. The following paper therefore presents empirical work conducted in southern Italy, in the Campania region. The methodology used is Mixed Methods, and the research design is Sequential Exploratory. The respondents were reached through the help of the association Hikikomori Italia.