Trigger warning! Reflective, might be uncomfortable. Sometimes we do things just for fun, out of pure mirth, like when you're at a sitdown dinner and you spontaneously decide to open up a wine you've been saving for a long time. And sometimes we do fun things to get away from reality when it's too bleak. I used to do this all the time with video games and being with not-so-nice people. Sometimes the difference is very clear, sometimes more subtle. I can watch a movie with a close one purely out if it being fun, but I can also escape into the internet or books or whatever. So that's my little philosophical night-time exposé ^^ Where do you think the line is? What is just amusement and what is escspism?
Very interesting! I am an avid reader. Growing up I would read and re-read books of fantasy and science fiction and at the time I was quite content and enjoyed it. Now older and reflecting on my past I find myself realizing that I read so much that a lot of it was replacing the fact that I had no friends, I was uncomfortable with myself and I allowed anxiety to rule my life. But did I not enjoy my reading because it was merely to replace my life for a short moment? Of course not! I loved reading because it could help me feel relaxed and that made it enjoyable. The concept of pure enjoyment is intimately linked with how it contrasts against the more negative emotions. If escapsim is to avoid out of fear/sadness/anger then enjoyment is the solution! If we do something to feel joy, is it ultimately to not (ie avoid) feel bad? Great discussion topic BeckiWoopx!
I think it becomes escapism when you're neglecting responsibilities and refusing to deal with problems in the real world. But for me, escapism can also mean something different and healthier. When I play music or read a good story, it'll be like I'm in another world. Then when I come back to this one, I feel refreshed. It does for me what meditation does for others.
Amusement is an activity or hobby I might do for fun and relaxation. People are aware when they go to do it because it's something they know they will derive pleasure from. Amusement is purely done to be happy. Escapism isn't really trying to get pleasure, but eliminating something painful or negative so it may be a neutral activity. It's usually unconscious and something used to cope. The blurry line is the fact that something you do to escape can be something you do for amusement. It depends entirely on the motivation that moment for it I think.
That. And that. Sums up my answer. To add something to this, I'm often thinking throughout the day. Sometimes a bit heavier than usual, but never to the degree I do when meditating. In fact, I just got done, both, working out and meditating for a good few hours. I feel more... refreshed and aware, and my mood is rather collected but amused. Silly but soothing. But while I "escape" from reality, it isn't a total escape. For one, I often face my problems through this, making it something of a hybrid.
Well, the difference is whether you have something to escape from or not. People don't willingly get themselves addicted to something they know being addictive without a reason. Some alcoholics, heavy drug users, or even game/internet addicts, has something they want to run away from. It is a coping mechanic.
This is a very interesting topic. I personally think there's a very fine line between the two. What some people view as simple amusement, others see as escapism. I think the difference between the two are whether you're neglecting yourself or chores because of what you're doing (e.g. playing video games, reading a book, playing a musical instrument or watching tv), or if you're only doing it to pass some time. To name an example of escapism: My dad is almost entirely deaf (Can still hear a little with help from his hearing aids), he loses himself in books, or spends hours on end in front of the computer, on photography forums, or he'd be busy taking pictures of something. He pretty much ignores everything else around him. On weekends he'd sit in front of the computer, in his pyjamas, for a long time before realizing that perhaps he should go shower and get dressed. He withdraws from us completely and misses out on so much because the only things that exist to him are books, his photography and the computer. The rest of the world just passes him by. Amusement is like when we, as a family, play board games together or watch a movie together. We don't neglect our chores, but for a moment we just let our minds go and just enjoy whatever we're doing. I have to admit that I'm a total tv-junkie. I can spend hours just lounging in front of the telly, and I don't take in what's going on around me. So I think that leans more towards escapism than amusement. So like I mentioned above, there's a very fine line between the two in my opinion. You've made me think. Again, great topic! :eusa_clap
Thank you, VelvetBlade and OfTheKokiri, for liking my topic I think that for example when you feel "I should really mow the lawn, this is getting silly" or when you're feeling anxious or bad in some way and distract yourself with something fun, that is escapism clear-cut. But if you have a routine of e.g. filling your days with activity that is fun, while at the same time you have problems nagging the back of your mind that you don't want to deal with, that can also be a form of escapism. Amusement in its purest form is perhaps only attainable when everything else is sorted out (at least for the moment) and you can simply relax and enjoy the present. If so, then fun in the form of escapism can directly inhibit progress in one's wellbeing and thus indirectly be a force counteractive to pure amusement.
Amusement is fun for the sake of fun. Escapism is more complicated. A degree of escapism can be healthy if used correctly, like 'taking a breather' so to speak, before you have to get on with things. But as others have mentioned, it can become a problem if it gets to the point that you are neglecting your responsibilities. I can joke around and be childlike and pretty silly a lot of the time, but there is a difference between retaining a fun, youthful outlook and putting oneself at a disadvantage by not dealing with things that need to be addressed. Of course my definition of 'responsibilities' might differ a little than some people my age, because I would only categorise things that actually ARE necessary or beneficial as responsibilities, as opposed to lumping them in with non-essential things that are actually just an advanced form of peer pressure (a lot of people seem to have difficulty telling the difference between those two). I would also add that escapism, both in its classic form and less obvious variations, becomes a problem when it begins to affect the lives of those around you. If one persons refusal to deal with the real world means that another is consequently having to handle more than their fair share of life's load, it makes even the little things that should be easy 10 times harder. Speaking from experience, it's frankly exhausting being the latter person in that scenario.
