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Comment by fxtentacle | Hacker News Reader

I agree with the authors implied reason that Kawaii is a way for people to escape reality.

It first became popular in Japan, where there is also Hikkomori (adults refusing to leave the house), Grasseaters (young men refusing to date), and lots of fantasy harem videos on TV.

And now that the pressure increases in western societies, we see similar problems and similar escape mechanisms.

FYI alcohol is not accessible to people under 21 in Japan, thereby denying them one of the most popular western stress relieve drugs.

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> western stress relieve drugs

Alcohol isn't actually western, unless you meant that the specific beverages consumed by some Japanese youth are from western countries or just that alcohol is common for stress relief in the west, in which case I misread. It has been found to have existed in various parts of Asia for millennia (rice wine from about 7000 BC in China, distillation first recorded in India, etc.).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_alcoholic_drinks

> FYI alcohol is not accessible to people under 21 in Japan, thereby denying them one of the most popular western stress relieve drugs.

Well, it’s not supposed to be accessible to people under 21 in my state either.

Here in Germany, you can legally buy beer at 16...

Same here in Switzerland. Beer: 16. Wine and spirits: 18. Tobacco: No age limit to 18 (depending on canton). Driving (car): 18. Driving (tractor): 14. Voting: 18. Mandatory army service: 18.

The legal drinking age in Japan is 20 (will be lowered to 18 in 2022), but attitudes toward teenagers drinking alcohol has historically been extremely lax here.

"And now"? Pressure in most societies has been huge, and every available stress relief was sought. That's how we got the gin epidemic in the 18th century.

One might say that most "design" concepts are there to escape reality (and quite a lot of "art"), by creating a substitute reality that's more pure and clear than messy reality. Both for practical (ease of use, readability) reasons and to increase sales/aesthetic appreciation. That's true for Kawaii as it is for Bauhaus or Flat Design.

It's also not accessible under the age of 21 in America, the largest and most influential Western country.

>Kawaii is a way for people to escape reality

i'd say that our [social/political/economic] reality is getting Kawaiized (that also dovetails with the recent simulacrum discussion), and that Kawaiization of reality is getting reflected in particular in design.

Are mortgages, loans, taxes and fines getting Kawaiized, though?

The "trickle down" political foundation of modern tax laws is definitely Kawaii, the local anti-homelessness laws when for example you can be fined/arrested for sleeping on the street (such laws recently were declared unconstitutional at some state Supreme Court or a federal district court, don't remember exactly) are protecting the Kawaii of the cities self-image and self-feeling, that wannabe black border wall is Kawaii, and even the current President - Cartman from South Park - is Kawaii.

The Blvck Kvwv11 (c)

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