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Leskova I.V. From Japanese «hikikomori» to Russian «hikka»: social isolation as a response to modern challenges. Eurasian Academic Horizons. 2026; 3(1). Available at: https://eahjournal.ru/PDF/04EAH126.pdf (in Russian).

From Japanese «hikikomori» to Russian «hikka»: social isolation as a response to modern challenges

Leskova Irina Valeryevna
State University of Education, Moscow, Russia
E-mail: leskova.i@yandex.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6083-6692
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=510760

Abstract. The article provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the phenomenon of voluntary social isolation, represented by the concept of «hikikomori»/«hikka». The author examines the origin and evolution of the concept: from its origin in the Japanese clinical and social context to its transformation into a Russified slang label for identification. It is emphasized that the phenomenon, called «hikikomori» in Japan and «hikka» in the Russian — speaking space, has ceased to be a purely local cultural phenomenon and has acquired global proportions. Based on the synthesis of sociological (anomie theory, risk society) and psychological (learned helplessness, social anxiety) approaches, the determinants of this phenomenon are revealed. A distinction is made between the clinical and subcultural aspects of the phenomenon, and its connection with current trends in youth, identified in empirical studies, is analyzed. Special attention is paid to the mediating role of the digital environment and the specifics of perception of the phenomenon in the Russian socio-cultural context, characterized by the precarization of labor, the crisis of traditional institutions of socialization and the influence of Japanese pop culture. It is summarized that the Russian «hikka» is a combination of general global trends (precarization, digitalization) and local features (family support, often against a background of disadvantage, a sense of loss after the collapse of the USSR, as well as the lack of systemic assistance from the state and public discussion of this problem). His position is not a voluntary identity, but a trap, where on the one hand there are blocked paths to success in society, and on the other hand there is a temptation to finally leave for the digital world. It is concluded that the phenomenon of «hikka» is a complex personality response to a set of social, economic and psychological challenges of our time.

Keywords: hikikomori; hikka; social isolation; anomie; risk society; learned helplessness; digital socialization; youth subcultures; Russian context; empirical research

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