8 Years Lost: Escaping Life Instead of Living It

I recently came across a startling statistic: men spend, on average, eight years of their lives in escapist entertainment. I did try and find supporting evidence for this claim and to be honest there was not that much. So lets be cautious and cut this number in half. 4 FULL YEARS in escapest entertainment

4 years. Gone. Men's average life expectancy is 75 years. That means over 5% of your life spent not with family, or in play, or moving your body, or loving your wife, or working toward a goal of yours, but instead staring at a screen. FUCK THAT.  

Not everything we do needs to be profound or life-changing—there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a game, a show, a movie or a quick scroll on social, but when our main goal is to escape the life we’re currently living, whether through social media, endless videos, pornography, alcohol, or even overworking, that’s a red flag.

Escapism offers temporary relief but long-term emptiness. The real issue isn’t the distractions—it’s what we’re trying to avoid facing in ourselves or our circumstances.

Actionable Takeaway

Audit your habits this week. Pick one area of escapism - whether it’s scrolling, drinking, or binge-watching - and ask:

“Am I enjoying this, or am I trying to escape something I don’t want to deal with?”

If it’s the latter, shift just one hour of that time into action toward building a life you don’t want to escape from.