People no longer prefer to confront reality directly, having learned and accepted that reality has for all practical purposes become unmanageable. People tend increasingly to devote their energies to the proliferation and production of trivia and unreality to soothe tired and fractured egos. The increasing role of television is particularly insidious in that it has become both a simulation of reality and reality itself. There is in fact no reality anymore. Symbols, information and entertainment have been so thoroughly merged, that few can distinguish between them.
Overexposure of escapist material in entertainment such as TV, movies and novels diverts people from the problems of daily living, encourages them to retreat into a dream world and promotes individual and group apathy; thus inhibits social progress.
Escapist material does not divert people from more serious considerations. While some people do overindulge, these people might be more dangerously preoccupied. And while those who make heavy use of the media to escape have little interest in serious social problems, their lack of interest is more likely the cause of escapism than the result.
No matter where you go, there you are.