The Existence of Personality and Hikikomori State: a Socio-Philosophical Reflection on the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Olena Honcharova

Department of Social-Humanitarian Disciplines, Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, 9, Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, Mykolayiv, Ukraine, 54007

Olga Kyvliuk

Department of Philosophy, Foreign Languages and Socio-Humanitarian Disciplines, Kyiv Institute of Intellectual Property and Law of the National University “Odesa Law Academy”, 210, Kharkivs’ke Highway, Kyiv, Ukraine, 02000

Inna Chugueva

Department of Social-Humanitarian Disciplines, Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, 9, Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, Mykolayiv, Ukraine, 54007


Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of humans joining the ranks of hikikomori at the time of and after the introduction of strict quarantine measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lifestyle of the hikikomori, as a specific subcultural trend that focuses on the physical distancing of the individual from the space of social communication, is emphasised. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the hikikomori lifestyle became common to many people under a regime of enforced self-isolation. However, even when quarantine measures are relaxed and a return to familiar communication practices is allowed, not all people are willing to return to offline life. Attitudes towards temporality also change under conditions of pandemic and enforced self-isolation, where complex ethico-social dilemmas arise, bringing psychological discomfort to the individual on micro-and macro levels.




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Published
2022-12-31 — Updated on 2022-12-31

Cited by

Honcharova, O., Kyvliuk, O., & Chugueva, I. (2022). The Existence of Personality and Hikikomori State: a Socio-Philosophical Reflection on the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Studia Warmińskie, 59, 63–86. https://doi.org/10.31648/sw.8327

Olena Honcharova 
Department of Social-Humanitarian Disciplines, Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, 9, Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, Mykolayiv, Ukraine, 54007
Olga Kyvliuk 
Department of Philosophy, Foreign Languages and Socio-Humanitarian Disciplines, Kyiv Institute of Intellectual Property and Law of the National University “Odesa Law Academy”, 210, Kharkivs’ke Highway, Kyiv, Ukraine, 02000
Inna Chugueva 
Department of Social-Humanitarian Disciplines, Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, 9, Heroes of Ukraine Avenue, Mykolayiv, Ukraine, 54007