ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY

Interdisciplinary Studies
Summer, AY 2020-2021

Reflection Paper

Name (Surname, First Name) : Puerto, Samantha Rosie L.

Course and Year : BSA – 1st yr
IDS Code and Schedule : 16-050 5:15P-7:05
Professor : OCDENARIA, JOSE MARIE
Reflection (One page only)
(Technicalities: 500-600 words; Single space, Book Antiqua-13)

How is Kaye’s strange world and behavior different from the Community Quarantines during
this pandemic?

According to Alexander, J. (2015), Hikikomori (Japanese: ひきこもり or 引きこもり,

lit. "pulling inward, being confined"), also known as acute social withdrawal,
is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social
isolation and confinement. Hikikomori refers to both the phenomenon in
general and the recluses themselves.

Kaye is one of these people who recluses herself from society, and her friend is worried about her. Kaye's
strange world is different from the Community Quarantine as Kaye stays at home and refuses to interact
with other people socially. As a person affected by the Community Quarantine, we are quarantined in our
Homes, but it does not mean we don't want to go outside and interact and travel. In Kaye's case, she
considers her room her world. She has no desire to go outside and does not want to converse with other
people.

Moreover, the Community Quarantine is decided by the Government and is not instilled by ourselves. On
the other hand, Kaye decided to confine herself to her room and by her own will. As stated in the definition
of Hikikomori, Kaye is totally isolated from society, and she's in a state of being cut off from normal
communicative networks, which can be triggered by factors such as loss of mobility, unemployment, or
health issues. The insight I had in this module is that total Social Isolation is not in any way beneficial to
anyone, even ourselves. Yes, we have the freedom to live life how we want to, but that does not equate to
completely throwing our lives away and being confined in a room where there are no chances of being a
better person, not for other people but ourselves. Life is much more than a boxed space. We cannot truly
live by choosing to be alone.
References:
Alexander, J. (2015). From the Editor. College Composition and Communication, 66(3), 380.
What does it mean to be Physically and Socially isolated. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-does-mean-
physically-socially-isolated-michelle-alexander
VIDEO PREMIERE: Trialogos, "Hikikomori" from 'Stroh zu Gold'.
https://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2021/05/27/trialogos-hikikomori-vid-premiere/