16 settembre 2022
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The other side of a super-connected society is detachment and loneliness. Virtuality has become a real dimension in which anything is possible, a world that runs and destroys itself rapidly without leaving any emotional trace.
One can use, to define the phenomenon, the term hikikomori, invented by the Japanese psychiatrist Saito Tamaki in the 1980s, which literally means to stand apart and isolate oneself; this situation is experienced by many young people who manifest social withdrawal and denial of contact.
The rejection of the world has very deep roots; these are delicate boys who cannot sustain social tension and competition; they often drop out of school and all relationships. The school can and must do something, every teacher must be able to rekindle those emotions that are often lost due to fear of confrontation.
The reasons for this self-exclusion are disparate and often arise from negative experiences in the school environment from bullying to poor performance or even from flunking out; but it is the fear of not living up to the expectations that parents have for their child that makes kids seriously ill.
School in such a context must be able to replace real failures and deficiencies of affection that have created deep suffering in the adolescent. Internet addiction only describes the means of isolating oneself from the frightening outside world. Appropriate psychological treatment can make those segregated from the world the social stimuli needed to relate and communicate with others by improving in them emotional involvement and empathy, the tools of knowledge and communication possible only in a real world and not a virtual one are needed.
Schools by flanking and helping the recovery work through knowledge and values education can get them back on the road to personal recovery so that they re-enter the condition of young people connected with themselves.
