Lukman’s mornings start the same way, every weekday. He wakes up by 6:00 am (sometimes earlier, during peculiar postings), says his prayers, checks to see what is on his schedule for school, tries to rehearse his clerking from the previous day in case he is asked to clerk, and skips breakfast (either because he has no plans for it or because he has nothing to eat. He rushes to school to join a ward round that lasts several hours, then clinic, then emergency call. He pleads with the medical officer in charge to let him leave by 9:00 pm, earlier than his colleagues so he doesn’t have to go home really late. When he gets home, he is knackered, he cooks a meal, sits down to study and doses off while at it. This is the story for many medical students with very slight but distinct variations.
It is no surprise that students seek reprieve from these draining schedules. To many, this is called escapism. The Cambridge dictionary defines escapism as a way of avoiding an unpleasant or boring life, especially by thinking, reading, etc. about more exciting but impossible activities. But to Khaddy*, a fifth year medical student, escapism is simply “anything that takes my mind off all the work I have to do.” And when we asked Lukman, a sixth year medical student, what escapism meant to him, he said “I think it is anything that makes me happy briefly”. It does not matter how the words are mixed, the message remains clear.
But what exactly are these students escaping? On the first look, it’s easy to just assume that it is the voluminous schoolwork that they have to do. But on a closer look, it’s discovered that there are even more things to escape. This is what we see in Khaddy’s response. “It’s not just school work o. I mean it’s majorly school but it is not just school. I have a part-time job outside of school. I also have multiple extra-curricular commitments that take my time. All of these things combined often push me to the edge and towards escapism.” But for some, it’s the schoolwork and pressure to perform well in school.
The mainstream forms of escapism are through literature into fantasy worlds. To you, this could simply be through grabbing a romance novel, or binge watching several seasons of your favorite series. But for many students, a simple hours-long catch up with friends can be golden. Khaddy explains that everything is a form of escape for her. “Sometimes, escapism is having dinner in my friend’s room and getting carried away over the gists, especially because this is a luxury I do not always get. Other times, I take the escape in escapism very literally and leave school whenever I can bear the consequence.” For Lekan, his own form of escapism is movies, “I mostly watch movies when I’m overwhelmed. But whenever there’s a good party, I show up and try to dance my worries away. Keyword is TRY.”
Escapism can be healing, allowing you to take a step away from all the pent-up emotions, feelings, tiredness, and stress. Sometimes, it may be all you need to get your mojo back. Khaddy alludes to this “I think it helps me focus more. I do not know how a simple evening with friends does that but I swear it does and I guess that’s why I keep doing it.” Some research studies have shown that escapism through literature may help people who feel lonely feel less so when they watch shows or read books where they identify with the characters and their social experiences.
But these acts of escapism sometimes have unwanted effects. Although none of our correspondence agreed to escaping to the point of negative impacts, some papers report that engaging in escapism can disconnect people from the world and themselves. This can be explained through the way personal development requires people to sit down with themselves and their realities. Excessive escapism does not let a person do this. For example, someone who is always playing video games to escape school stress and other real life issues can end up failing out of school.
Escapism has always been a thing in our society. It has recently become a common phenomenon because of the prevalence of technology and the increase in available forms of escapism. When mobile phones were introduced, they were described as “having a computer in our pockets.” So as a student, you do not have to wait till you get back to your room to watch a series or read a novel or manga.
Whatever form it takes, social media, literature, movies, parties, escapism is a growing habit in our society, especially among students. The effects can either be negative or positive depending on the student’s experience with it. But for as long as there exists real life issues to escape from, students will seek it. It can only be advised that they examine the borders of escapism and understand how it can lead to procrastination and other extreme outcomes.
*Asterisks indicate that names have been changed to protect identities.
