Addictions: in 2025, over 50,000 students will be ‘hikikomori’ for more than six months

In 2025, over 50,000 students (2.1 per cent) reported having been in isolation for more than six months, without attending school or meeting friends or acquaintances. This is highlighted in the 2026 annual report to Parliament on addiction in Italia, in relation to the phenomenon of voluntary social withdrawal, known as ‘Hikikomori’. A further 2.5 per cent reported a period of isolation lasting between 3 and 6 months, constituting a ‘pre-Hikikomori’ condition. Among the main reasons cited are psychological problems (36 per cent), a lack of motivation to meet other people (27 per cent), relationship difficulties with friends or partners (25 per cent), physical problems (21 per cent) and family problems (19 per cent).