[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-135416-en":3,"doc-seo-135416-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":93},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},135416,137451211410,"\tCallum ","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/2000bb0a9246f588df?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786362646172706240",8,"Research & Report","Fanfiction, coping mechanisms, and shifting the realities - Escapism into virtual and fictional reality","The article examines how the spread of social media and related content increases social anomie, exposing young people to fake news, stereotypes, hate, ostracism, isolation, and constant fear of missing out. Faced with intensified stress and mental health challenges, youth seek temporary closure through social media and fiction, including fanfiction, books, films, TV shows, and games. It analyzes why fiction provides psychological coping and closure, using illustrative examples to explain the appeal and consequences of escapism into virtual realities.","Kaja Rokicka University of Szczecin  \n [https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3396-9083](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3396-9083)  \nFanfiction, coping mechanisms, and shifting the realities  \nAbstract: The development and popularization of social media have increased social anomie, as exemplified by dissemination of fake news, stereotypes, hate, ostracism, social isolation, and ubiquitous fear of missing out. As a result, members of society are more exposed to witnessing and reading of tragedies than previously. The youth of today try to find some methods to “drown out” the reality, even if the methods they use were to be effective only temporarily. That is how, in some cases, people become addicted to and dependent on any form of mass media: social media and fiction (such as video games, books, TV shows, movies or cartoons, etc.) . The present article attempts to answer the question of why the young people seek closure aided by fiction, and to provide examples to illustrate it.  \nKeywords: fiction, coping mechanisms, mental health  \nSłowa kluczowe: fikcja, sposoby radzenia sobie, zdrowie psychiczne  \nIntroduction  \nThe purpose of this article is to list and discuss some of the appealing factors of the social media, the literary spectrum, and the impact of social media and fiction on the behavior of youth. Article will focus on escapism into virtual and fictional reality. There is a thin line between being a fan of someone’s work and being completely obsessed with it to the point of forgetting reality. Today’s teenagers struggle with a lot of problems: filled with school stress, horrible news on television, growing mental health issues, and new phenomena that the previous generations (mostly before Gen Z) tend to underestimate (e.g. fear of missing out, social media image in the context of cyber world). Nowadays, more and more young people try to find a temporary closure within the realm of fiction: books, movies, TV shows, and fanfiction.  \nThe issue of escapism is not something new to society due to the fact that it could be considered as a part of our nature and culture. Escapism provides a respite from burdensome norms and social control. The only thing that is constantly changing is the currently popular way of distraction, which have been evolving over the years. While the factors that  \nKaja Rokicka  \nSEIA .2023.23.0 1.05 p. 2 of 15  \nkeep us on the edge, burden us with stress, and make us ready to “flee from the scene” are more or less the same: the troubling affairs of the society (political and social, including family, issues) compounded by the eagerness to find oneself. Whether at work, school, or legal institutions society is built on norms; the culture’s major task is to promote order and stability (Tuan, 1998: XIV), but where there is the norm there are always the breakaways from it.  \nRunning away from what constricts people is a common occurrence, whether it stems from feeling utterly lost or knowing that one does not fit in the norm or canon imposed by society. Sydonia von Borck, whose life is described in Sydonia. Słowo się rzekło [Sidonia. The word has been spoken], a novel by Elżbieta Cherezińska (2023), came from a Pomeranian family and her tragic story shows the possible consequences of challenging the norms. Cherezińska is a Polish author and theaterologist who specializes in writing fantasy and historical novels as well as biographies. The eponymous Sydonia, by having rejected Prince Ernest’s marriage proposal, and by trying to have lived the way she wanted to, ended up being accused of witchcraft and separated from her people. Society turned their backs on her, tortured and considered her rebellion as political crime and, in the end, executed her. While this example might seem a bit extreme for today, it is important to acknowledge the change in society’s reaction to lack of adherence to the social imaginary. Back in the day, such behavior would result in complete isolation of the individual and, in extreme cases","cbCaihPYi3FaeZz6","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihPYi3FaeZz6","pdf",711187,6,1,15,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Escapism, social norms, and distraction\n## Fiction as coping mechanism for youth\n## Motivation and research focus","[{\"question\":\"How do social media and popular content affect young people’s social experience and stress levels?\",\"answer\":\"Social media contributes to social anomie by spreading fake news, stereotypes, hate, ostracism, and isolation, while also amplifying fear of missing out. This increases exposure to tragedies and can intensify stress and mental health problems.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do young people rely on fiction and fanfiction to cope?\",\"answer\":\"Escapism offers respite from burdensome norms and social control, and fiction can provide temporary closure and emotional relief. The article frames coping mechanisms as developing in response to stress and newly available forms of escapism.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the central question this article seeks to answer?\",\"answer\":\"It asks why young people turn to fiction to feel better with themselves and in the situations they live in.\"}]","Fanfiction, coping mechanisms, and shifting the realities - Escapism into virtual and fictional reality | PDF",1787311251,38,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":88,"head_meta":90,"extra_data":92,"updated_unix":29},"fanfiction-coping-mechanisms-and-shifting-the-realities-escapism-into-virtual-and-fictional-reality","",{"@graph":37,"@context":87},[38,55,70],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,49,52],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":50,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":53,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":54},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/fanfiction-coping-mechanisms-and-shifting-the-realities-escapism-into-virtual-and-fictional-reality/135416/",4,{"url":53,"name":13,"@type":56,"author":57,"headline":13,"publisher":59,"fileFormat":62,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":63,"datePublished":64,"encodingFormat":62,"isAccessibleForFree":65,"interactionStatistic":66},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":58},"Person",{"url":42,"name":60,"@type":61},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-03","2026-08-21",true,{"@type":67,"interactionType":68,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":69},"ViewAction",{"@type":71,"mainEntity":72},"FAQPage",[73,79,83],{"name":74,"@type":75,"acceptedAnswer":76},"How do social media and popular content affect young people’s social experience and stress levels?","Question",{"text":77,"@type":78},"Social media contributes to social anomie by spreading fake news, stereotypes, hate, ostracism, and isolation, while also amplifying fear of missing out. This increases exposure to tragedies and can intensify stress and mental health problems.","Answer",{"name":80,"@type":75,"acceptedAnswer":81},"Why do young people rely on fiction and fanfiction to cope?",{"text":82,"@type":78},"Escapism offers respite from burdensome norms and social control, and fiction can provide temporary closure and emotional relief. The article frames coping mechanisms as developing in response to stress and newly available forms of escapism.",{"name":84,"@type":75,"acceptedAnswer":85},"What is the central question this article seeks to answer?",{"text":86,"@type":78},"It asks why young people turn to fiction to feel better with themselves and in the situations they live in.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":53,"og:type":89,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":60,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":91,"canonical":53},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":94},[95,99,103,107,112,116,121,124,129,132,136],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":48,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":54,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":104,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":106},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":108,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":109,"show_sort_weight":110,"slug":111},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":113,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":115},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":118,"show_sort_weight":119,"slug":120},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},30,"research-report",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":126,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":128},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":130,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":131},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":133,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":134,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":135},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":137,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":138,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":139},19,"General","general"]