Teens and NEET’s

I have enjoyed seeing groups of students and solo teens. Some are runners, some bicycle past me, some were practicing dance steps, some form cliques and hang out with their friends. I was fascinated by the local high school’s Performance Calligraphy Team. Teams compete against other teams in an activity that is a combination of dance moves to J-Pop and delicate brushwork.

Even when they’re not wearing a school uniform, the kids often dress alike in dark jeans and athletic jackets. And they dressed up in rented kimonos just to stroll the suburban streets around Kyoto. They eat carbs on a stick from street vendors. But some teens don’t connect with others.

About 1.2% of young Japanese withdraw from the rest of the world, including their families. What might seem like a single individual refusing to do what’s expected is a cultural phenomenon. These people are called NEET’s, for Not Enrolled, Employed, or Trained. The Japanese term is Hikikomori. There are estimated to be over 700,000 of these people in post-industrial Japan. This study author calls them culturally marginalized. More people, especially young men, are falling through the cracks in the 21st century. I am sorry the outside world offers them no sustenance which appeals to them. 

Here’s a link to researchers who are developing an assessment tool for NEET’s and Hikikomori.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4540084/

One problem with the outside world is the shallow way the internet glorifies a fancy look. Though gold-wrapped soft serve ice cream looks posh, the taste will be metallic. So many young people are overly concerned with looks over deeds because they care what their posts look like. They value photo ops more than views.

At the crowded shrines and gardens, foot traffic is impeded as we wait for others to take photos. The conceit is that the subject is alone in the frame. We each want to be the star of the show. But we are part of a swarm, not quietly posing and cogitating like this pup in Arushiyama.