http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_204561.html
TAIPEI - WEARING colourful masks and black T-shirts with
women-hating slogans, dozens of young men paraded through an
upscale Taipei shopping centre one night last December yelling at
startled couples: 'Lovers, go to hell.'
It was a rare moment of public exposure for Taiwan's so-called
'home boys' - a generation of single young men who spend their
evenings cloistered at home playing online computer games, reading
fantasy comic books and complaining in Internet chatrooms about
women.
'You don't have to be sad if you don't have a date,' said
24-year-old college student Lu Yung-ping. 'We can huddle together
and have fun.'
Taiwan is not alone in having such 'home boys'. Japan, Hong Kong
and the fast-growing areas of coastal China also have their own
versions of them.
They use the Internet to construct an alternative reality, where
fantasy characters and digital games trump domestic
responsibilities and the formation of relationships.
Parents find the trend worrisome, and it has become a hot topic
in Taiwan's media.
<!-- show media links starting at 7th para -->Talk shows
and popular magazines attribute the phenomenon to a desire to
remain in the comfort of mum and dad's home rather than head out
into the uncertain world of raising families and paying off
mortgages.
There are no reliable estimates of their numbers, although 'home
boys' far outnumber 'home girls' because they tend to spend far
more time playing online games.
Sociologists say their obsession with computers inhibits their
ability to have normal personal relationships and to date women - a
concern at a time when young Taiwanese are delaying marriage and
the fertility rate has fallen to 1.2 children per woman, down from
3.2 in 1971.
The 'home boys' tend to be self-centred, less caring for others
and incapable of problem-solving, said sociology professor Hsueh
Cheng-tai of Taipei's National Taiwan University.
'Many 30-year-olds still have the mentality of children, who
want to rely on their parents' care and financial support,' he
said. 'They are not ready to get married and fulfil family
duties.'
It is not so much that they hate women, the young men say; it is
just that women ignore, reject or betray them.
And rather than pining away in private, they prefer to gather
electronically with fellow sufferers and nurse their wounds by
talking about anything except the hurtful side of love.
But many of the chatroom denizens reject the idea that they are
socially awkward, blaming their lack of domestic compatibility on
women.
Said one who identified himself only as Klowa: 'More so than
politicians, women are swindlers among swindlers. They will cheat
you of your money and time, or worse, steal from several men at the
same time.'
The more rabid 'home boys' go public with their complaints on
popular dating days such as Valentine's Day and Christmas Eve.
Mr Hsu Wen-hsiung, a bespectacled 26-year-old office worker who
took part in the anti-couple demonstration last December,
complained that women never had the patience to get to know him or
allow him to show his good nature and sense of humour in a relaxed
atmosphere.
Waving a fox-shaped mask that he had made for the parade, Mr Hsu
said he felt like his own computer obsession had put him into a
no-win situation with the opposite sex.
'You spend so much time on the Internet that you don't get to
know women, and then failing to find a girlfriend, you go back to
the Internet,' he said. 'It is a vicious cycle.'
ASSOCIATED PRESS
I suppose theres a similar situation building up here? Judging
from the
'sg girls dont appreciate the guys' '
'sg guys r mummy's boys'
'who's parents allow u to stay over/ go overseas?'
'who above 21 and still take money from parents?'
'who can bring me to geylang? i only 15'
'geylang hookers work on cny anot?'
'why our local gals hanging out with white dudes
everywhere?'
C'mon, in the western countries, 18 is adulthood. not 21. At 18,
they r expected to b independent and take care of themselves. Its
the norm.
So, when is the first gathering for the SG 'home boys'?
