because people can stay at home for weeks at a time without losing touch with friends, getting food to eat, working or watching recent movies. The authors cite the growth of home entertainment as a significant factor in cocooning, with people treating large casts of fictional characters as a "surrogate community." While they saw no evidence of people entertaining at home more, in the wake of September 11, they said that people traveled less, stayed closer to home and spent more time with their families. A German economics book in 2009 titled Cocooning: My Home is My Castle asserted that in times of crisis people prefer to "hedgehog" at home and forecast good commercial prospects for chocolate, snacks, ready-made-meals and home furniture. A self-help book from 2010, The One Year Book of Inspiration for Girlfriends, advocates cocooning as a form of religious retreat. In 2014, authors Marilyn Coleman and Lawrence Ganong tie cocooning to the trend for larger homes. Rather than using amenities like public pools, parks and movie theaters, and participate in community activities like church and school functions, the authors contended that more people were retreating to large homes designed as a safe and pleasant refuge. See also Agoraphobia Hermit Hikikomori Loner Recluse Hoarding References External links People cocooning more, socializing less at home University of Toronto 2004-06-23 1981 neologisms Home Anti-social behaviour