Hyperfixations as a Coping Mechanism: A Look Into Gen Z’s Urge to Escape Reality Through Fiction

• Hyperfixation negatively affects the life of people.
• People belonging to Gen Z are more prone to being invested in the fictional world.
• Several internal and external factors can cause a person to desire an escape from reality.
• An immersion in fiction causes harmful results.

All children go through a phase in their childhood where they wish to live in a reality different from their own. This behavior owed to the creativity of their developing minds makes guardians witness an interesting phase of their child’s life. Sometimes it manifests as an urge to be one of the twelve dancing princesses. And sometimes it’s an urge to be like one of the DC superheroes. While prevalent and socially accepted as a child these same behaviors are rare and looked down upon as an adult.

In teens and adults, when in a severe stage, they are considered hyperfixation. In the current digital era, they can be widely seen among different sorts of people. Gen Z is particularly susceptible to it. An understanding of Gen Z and their behaviors can provide a context to this unusual behavior.

What Are Hyperfixations?

Hyperfixation is a condition where a person intensely immerses themselves in a specific topic, activity, or person. Individuals with it focus on their desired media or activity to the point of disregarding hygiene, studies, and relationships. Getting help proves hard as the individual in question feels fulfilled with the way they are living. 

The symptoms of hyperfixation are easy to recognize when identified by someone close to the concerned person. They appear as uncommon personality traits that are not common in a person’s behavior or lifestyle. These include experiencing anxiety and agitation when unable to engage with fixation, neglecting basic needs of survival, and more. 

In severe cases, they can be detected at first glance as the person starts to revolve their personality around them. Their fashion sense, the things they talk about, and the things they care about all hint at what their fixation is. 

The stereotypical gamer who stays in his room and the K-pop fangirl who is sensitive to criticism, both portray hyperfixations.

Connection Between Gen Z and Hyperfixations

Gen Z, or the generation of people who were born between 1996 and 2010, is the newest generation experiencing adulting.  This generation has firsthand witnessed the transformation in channels of communication and long-distance sharing of information. Growing up with the rise of the internet, its interests and hobbies differ from those of its predecessors.

The differences arise from easy access to various forms of media. The constant availability of entertainment like songs, movies, and books has affected how Gen Z lives their life. Or one could say it has affected the way they escape their life.

Entertainment provides a means of avoidance by allowing one to focus on characters, band members, timelines, and updates. In Gen Z, the prevalence of this phenomenon can be studied through the emergence of fandoms worldwide. Social Media apps allow people to create spaces for commonly shared interests which makes the masses immerse themselves deeper into them. Gen Z in particular is affected severely due to their reliance on social media.

What Causes It?

There are many factors which can cause the initiation of a hyperfixation. Though often existing individually, these factors can also overlap by multiple of them existing at the same time. Further leading to more intensified obsessions. Here are some of the them:

Neurodivergence

The ADHD prevalence rate stands at 10 percent meaning 1/10th of all people have it. Individuals with ADHD or Autism tend to develop hyperfixation easily and at an earlier age than neurotypicals. Neurodivergents struggle when focusing on things that are deemed uninteresting or non-engaging. People with ADHD effortlessly focus on subjects they find interesting. These factors play a big role in the development of hyperfixations.

Anxiety

An engrossed state over something not related to real life can act as a coping mechanism for people under stress. It helps them avoid real-life problems and provides them with a sense of control. Though an effective temporary solution to prevent spiraling into deeper states of mental instability, eventually it can make things worse.

Environmental Influences

The upbringing of a person molds the behavior they showcase as a grown-up. A person who has traumatic life experiences grows up feeling unstable and faces issues maintaining control. In an effort to regain stability, they focus on something easily controllable. Which often turns out to be a fictional world. This behavior prevents them from resolving the trauma they wish to avoid. Similarly, people who were compared to their peers as children or weren’t academically gifted grow up feeling insecure. They seek out mediums like video games to feel a sense of accomplishment which leads to an addiction.

Loneliness

Individuals who grow up without sufficient positive human relationships turn towards fictional means to experience a sense of belonging. Whether it’s stanning boy groups, reading books with found family tropes or watching shows with healthy relationship dynamics. All of these are manifestations of this behavior, practiced to ignore the state of loneliness. While helpful in finding relatable people online, th

What Does It Lead To?

An obsession with objects and people could in itself be a starting point for other self consuming conditions and behaviors. The longer a person stays in an obsessive state, the more prone they become to adapting these.

Maladaptive Dreaming

An urge to escape reality sometimes manifests itself in the forms of severe daydreaming which can last for hours. This sort of compulsive daydreaming also known as Maladaptive daydreaming is a serious condition that negatively affects real life.

Overconsumption

Merch or short for merchandise are items sold by artists to gain profit. However, items can also be merchandised by fans with an influence on their fandoms. People who are severely invested in their interests can end up spending a lot of money to satiate their loneliness. Another reason for compulsively buying physical or digital stuff is the urge to collect merchandise to feel satisfaction. This can result in people putting aside finances just for merchandise, neglecting savings and money required for basic necessities.

Refusal to Maintain Relationships

People with hyperfixations fail or refuse to maintain relationships. They distance themselves to spend time on their obsessions and avoid human interaction unless it is to discuss their fixations. Some refuse romantic relationships due to their near-delusional love for a fictional character.

Changes in Appearance

Impulsive dying or cutting of hair to imitate a person or a fictional character or sudden changes in fashion choices. Both of these instances are caused by a person’s desire to be more like their subject of fixation. This urge in extreme cases leads to eating disorders for an ideal body or body modifications.

While serving as an easy abode, hyperfixations can harm a person in the long run. Their existence can be comforting but their effects can be bad if not controlled. They can be handled through preventive measures like therapy and self-discipline. One should strive to have them in control as regulated fixations can help one achieve a lot in life.