Quote Originally Posted by Animeniax View Post
I think the proper term to describe your type is "hikikomori". Teach her that if you want her to be accurate.
I think Hikikomori is even less accurate. From Hikikomori wiki:

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare defines hikikomori as people who refuse to leave their house, and isolate themselves from society in their homes for a period exceeding six months.[1]
While many people feel the pressures of the outside world, hikikomori react by complete social withdrawal. In some cases, they lock themselves in a room for prolonged periods, sometimes measured in years.
In general, the prevalence of hikikomori tendencies in Japan may be encouraged and facilitated by three primary factors:
1 - Middle class affluence in a post-industrial society such as Japan allows parents to support and feed an adult child in the home indefinitely. Lower-income families do not have hikikomori children because a socially withdrawing youth is forced to work outside the home.
Hikikomori tend to be financially supported by their parents, or by receiving social assistance. They seldom work since jobs usually require socialization.
I'm not withdrawing from any pressure imposed on me by society, I don't receive social security payments, I'm working and I'm paying for my share of food/board.

Densha Otoko was inaccurate in that she believed that computer use was the key to my "communication problem". Communication problems experienced by Densha Otoko are more like they're unable to express what they think or feel due to the inability to express oneself. That's not me. I'm perfectly able to express myself and my thoughts. In fact, in group meetings and assignments I'm often the one who has to both facilitate the meetings so we can keep talking (and not stare each other), keep talking in a direction that advances towards what we're trying to achieve in the project, and interpret(rephrase) what people are saying so other people can understand each other. (seriously, on this matter I don't know what's wrong with my groups. It's not a language barrier thing.. people just aren't listening.. and don't seem to pick up that others aren't understanding them.. but that's another matter).

If you had to describe the problem that exist between us, it would be personality clash. If you wanted to push it all on me, anger management issues would be the best (albeit still incorrect) way to describe it.

Hikikomori requires me to hide from something and to posses a fear of social interaction. None of that applies to me. What does apply to me is that when I'm using my free time, I like to do things and communicate with people who share the same interests as me. Not many of those two things can be done without a keyboard and monitor because they're simply not available otherwise.

@Kraco: I'm a fairly lazy person to be honest. Moving requires effort, searching, planning, effort, change of environments, packing, money to do the actual move... did I mention effort? The board I'm currently paying is likely to be more than what I'll need for rent/food after moving out (I'm paying this so I won't ever have the excuse of "You were better off here because you incurred less rent etc" bite me in later years) - but in exchange for that money I can stay in a place that I've familiarised myself with for the last 16 years of my life. For a person as resistant to unnecessary change as I am, moving's the final straw (at least until I'm further ahead in my career where my working hours would be such that I'd move just to cut down on transport time alone).