With intricate plotlines and worlds seemingly far from our own, stories make for an ideal break from the minutiae of daily life. Books can take you to places you’ve never been, places that don’t even exist.
For that reason, escapism is becoming increasingly popular (or, at least, people are finally putting a word to what they’ve been doing for a much longer time). Escapism is often used as a coping method or as a way to take a break from daily life. But there’s a fine line between exploring new worlds and neglecting the real one.
So when is that line crossed? And does it even matter?
What is escapism?
As defined by Merriam-Webster, escapism is the “habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine.”
Escapism can come in many forms, many of them popular hobbies: watching TV, playing video games, reading novels. In fact, nearly any activity can become an “escape route” with the proper attitude.
What separates escapism from simple relaxing is the purpose behind it. With escapism, the purpose tends to be to run from or to ignore something. It’s throwing yourself into a story without an active, discerning mind. Meanwhile, with relaxing, the purpose is to rest and recover so that you can continue doing good work in the future. It doesn’t involve shutting your mind down and the world out.
Defining what reading for escapism looks like
Reading tends to be a popular “escape route” due to its nature; after all, the reader is entering into a new world. However, reading is not inherently escapist. It’s possible to read even the highest of fantasy stories without (intentionally or unintentionally) trying to escape from reality or routine, as the definition suggests.
Although reading involves disconnecting from reality to an extent, temporarily suspending your disbelief to read a book is not the same as escapism. When you read, you don’t have to turn your mind completely off, discerning and learning nothing, focusing only on the story. But that is what escapist reading does.
For example, temporarily forgetting what’s going on at work so that you can focus on the book in front of you is not the same as dreading work the next day so you read, blocking out all thoughts of work, instead of properly processing the stress.
Reading can be a great way to relax, but like in this example scenario, escapist reading gets in the way of you solving the problem of the stressor or, at the very least, processing the stressful situation. When reading becomes a crutch for dealing with stress and prevents you from actually tackling the stressor, it becomes escapist.
To clarify, the situation does not make the activity escapist (e.g. reading during peaceful times vs. reading during stressful times). While the situation (e.g. stressful times) might encourage more escapist activity, it is not what makes the activity escapist; that lies in your motivations and the purpose with which you read.
The connection between escapism and mindless entertainment
Why do we read fiction? If we know that getting lost in the world of fiction doesn’t accomplish anything tangible, then why do it?
Because reading can impart wisdom, morality, a new perspective, raw emotion, inspiration, motivation, etc. All of these things can translate into something tangible or positively impact our lives in some way. This is fruitful.
But reading can also be fruitless, and in that case, a waste of time. Often, what you’re reading can tell you if you’re reading for escapist purposes or not. If you’re reading storylines with no clear purpose that exist only as entertainment, you’re likely escapist reading.
The fruit of what you’re reading is the tell. If you find that you’re not gaining anything fruitful (as described above) from the fictional worlds you’re invested in, it’s likely you’re using them to procrastinate or to escape some problem.
The problem with this is that the real world is still going on outside the fictional one. You could be doing something that is fruitful and that you do gain from. With escapist reading, that time is lost and no progress is being made.
For example, if you read in social situations instead of talking to people because you lack confidence, you’re never going to get that confidence unless you put yourself out there and just go for it.
Reading can help take the stress away from stressful situations, and that’s great, but you have to recognize that reading doesn’t change anything about the situation. Fortunately, it can change you and your perspective, but then you, as a changed person, must take responsibility and do something.
To clarify, the difference between escapist reading and regular reading lies in the motivation behind it, not in the reading material itself. However, escapist reading and the quality of what you’re reading is highly interconnected. If you read something you don’t gain a single thing from (mindless entertainment), your motivation is almost guaranteed to be escapist.
How escapism negatively affects motivation and mental health
Because disconnecting from reality is part of its inherent nature, escapism can lead to neglecting areas of your life. The saying “just one more chapter…” is all fun and games until you actually do stay up until 3 a.m. with work early the next morning.
Sometimes the temptation of getting lost in a fantasy world is stronger than your will to finish chores or work. When it happens once, it might be fine. But if you find yourself without the motivation to carry out your responsibilities, your hobby can become a problem.
This isn’t always obvious. Sometimes you aren’t neglecting a “to-do list,” sometimes you’re neglecting your health by staying up late, not eating, or not getting exercise. Your mental health is almost certain to take a hit, as well.
Since escapist reading encourages you to turn your mind off, it can hinder you from fully processing your emotions. Escapist reading promotes forgetting how you truly feel so you can indulge your imagination and temporarily feel better. As a result, escapism can only make any anxiety or any mental block you may have worse.
With escapist reading, I’ve found that it’s very easy to look at a fictional character’s life and (subconsciously or consciously) compare it to yours. When you start doing that, it may seem like the real world never measures up to a fictional one. And that can really take a toll on your outlook on life, whether you realize it or not. You become more pessimistic, more insecure.
It’s so easy to feel like you’ll never have that swoony book romance or that you’ll never embark on a great adventure. Escapist reading only encourages these thoughts, but getting in the habit of thinking these things isn’t healthy. It can hurt both your self-esteem and your motivation. When you feel like you’ll never get what you want, you’ll never work for it. You’ll get trapped in this cycle of wanting something you can’t have.
And don’t get me wrong—sometimes the things we want truly are not obtainable. Sometimes romance is exaggerated; sometimes magic isn’t real. In that case, we shouldn’t desire those things. We should find contentment in what we have, but escapist reading is the action of trying to get away from our lives and what we have. In an escapist mindset, nothing is good enough, and that can only serve to increase a despondent state of mind.
You might think that the idea of being content with what you have is contrary to going out and getting what you want, but it’s not. Knowing what the real world holds and what it doesn’t isn’t going to hurt your motivation. If anything, knowing what the future may hold will encourage you to pursue it.
The next step
We’ve established that reading for escapism can cause some bad habits and negatively impact your well-being, so what’s next? If reading is your form of escapism, how do you stop that?
Here’s a list of a few practical ways to help break the habit of escapist reading:
- Pray. As with any problem, turning to God is the first step to handling it. He will give you the strength to overcome any struggle or bad habit. Giving everything up to him will also help you feel less anxious and dejected, feelings that escapism encourages.
- Set a timer for how long you read. This helps you keep track of how much time you spend reading. This can be helpful if your escapism tends to result in procrastination or avoiding tasks.
- Choose what you read carefully. Like mentioned before, reading mindless entertainment and books that aren’t fruitful are a surefire sign of escapism. Choose books that inspire you. Sometimes you might find that you’re only escapist reading when you read a certain genre (e.g. romance). In that case, try to read books outside of your comfort genre. Expand your horizon. Find books that motivate you rather than only entertain you.
- Take a break. If you find that you’re surrounding yourself with the same mindless stories over and over again, it might benefit you to take a break and try another hobby for the time being. You can always return to reading when you’re in a clearer state of mind.
- Make a list of goals and create a plan to achieve them. This helps get you out of a low-motivation mindset that reading for escapism might put you in. Sometimes the stories aren’t the problem, it’s our attitude towards them. Shifting your attention to your goals and actively working to complete them will change your attitude for the better.
Reach out to people. In general, reading can put a wall between the reader and others. It’s so easy to get your head stuck in a book and ignore the people around you. To counteract this, reach out to friends you haven’t seen in a while. Plan a night out. Or if big plans aren’t your thing, reach out to your family.
Closing thoughts
I hope you enjoyed reading this post and got something from it. We are all guilty of escapism, myself included. I wrote this piece because I found that I am most joyful when I find myself reading with a purpose rather than for escapist reasons. If you agree and have had a similar experience with escapist reading, (or if you disagree), you can reach out with your thoughts.
