The otaku and hikikomori universe: new forms of communication in contemporary Japan

• Grant number: 11/07451-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2011
• End date: June 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Communications - Theory of Communication
• Principal Investigator: Christine Greiner
• Grantee: Cecilia Noriko Ito Saito
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação (PRPG). Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this project is to analyze how new forms of communication (internet, social networks and mobile phones) create new behaviors and social relationships in contemporary society. The research focus is two specific groups of users of digital technologies, known as "otaku" (J …) and "hikikomori" (MíŠ). The proposal is to carry out an investigation based on these groups and on their media products (movies, games, and testimonies in the social networks, etc.). The research seeks to understand the paradoxical relationship between what could be considered an excess of communication of the Otaku group - due to heavy use of social networks - and a lack of communication that characterizes the radical lifestyle of hikikomori group, notably marked by social isolation. The immediate outcome of this project is the creation of a website which will concomitantly serve the research objectives and will help to build a network of discussions between Brazilian and Japanese researchers. Based on their dialogues, a seminar with distinguished researchers will be organized in order to have them discussing the topic; as a result, the most significant essays will be published.