How much media is enough? Dancing In & Out of Fantasy

[Corrupted Unicorn]

(Note: by media, I mean any and all kinds of entertainment, but particularly digital ones)

We live in an era where we have (almost) all the information of our world at our fingertips. How do you administer it? How do you waltz and skate around being overwhelmed at the massive amount of information, the choice paralysis, the fear of missing out, the endless scrolling and searching for something new and exciting and the inevitable burnout of your brain constantly craving stimulation? 

This is a topic to discuss healthier approaches to media: not just "social" media, that one is discussed enough around here, but things like series, books, videogames, movies. Fantasy.

I am the kind who has big personal libraries of unread books, unplayed games, untouched files. I try to, in my own words, "drink the ocean" and have all this media available to me, but I barely have time to engage with it. But of course, I cannot spend most of my life "consuming" this media: I am a creator, after all, and I need to pay the bills and keep an ear tuned to real life, too. Swap fantasy for escapism as well, because in this case it's about the same.

I know fantasy (I am an unicorn, after all), but like with everything, fantasy is bad in excess. We live in a world where we can be constantly entertained, every waking minute of our lives. However, this can come at the cost of your own personal development: whether it's a skill you want to train, or a career or a life you want to pursue. Swap fantasy for information too, if you'd like: reading all the books in the library about swimming isn't going to make you a better swimmer unless you start plunging into that pool!

I've been wanting to priorize non-media experiences for a while: I joined a theatre troupe, started taking classes again (shorter ones), and overall trying to get the most out of the physical world. However, I would like to hear your thoughts on the subject, as well: I hope the ones I scattered around here make sense 

--- DISCLAIMER ---
I'm aware many people around these circles live the most of their lives online, which I consider an unfortunate modern malady (the circumstances surrounding this problem are many, and varied, and many were imposed upon ourselves unwillingly: I'm not here to blame people for being in this situation, since I am too; I am here to discuss how to get us out, or at least how to make the most of our circumstances without neglecting real life.

[Junebug]

I struggle with this question. I have always been someone who has really enjoyed fiction, loved reading it, loved thinking about how it works, and wanting certain types of stories to exist with plans of writing them myself. I don't know where to draw the line with this, because it really does take time away from living life as it actually is. I feel a pang over all the skills I could be learning that would make me of more use in day to day life, because I crave the validation of others and being useful is a path toward that. There are subjects I want to study because I want to know more about the world factually, so if I talk about things I'll really be saying something instead of producing endless, poorly-supported opinions that are as fragile as bubbles.

I think in a way I naturally take breaks and return to reality, though. When I read a story, I can have enough of it for the day and move on to other things. Maybe, then, this topic was more of a problem when I was younger, but now that I'm older my interests have naturally shifted and I just haven't given myself the opportunity to explore these other interests. What steals time away from this is endlessly looking for comments on social media.