Reality Shifting among Social Media Users: An Investigation of Psychological Phenomenology
Imagination Cognition and Personality February 13, 2026 Shweta Sunil, Manoj Kumar Sharma, Nitin Anand
Reality Shifting (RS), a practice that gained popularity after the COVID-19 pandemic, involves belief in multiple realities. Focus groups and an online survey with 59 participants aged 17 to 30 suggest that RS may help satisfy novelty seeking needs through fantasy proneness and parasocial relationships. Social media aids understanding and resource seeking for the practice but is linked to negative consequences such as excessive use and adverse online experiences. The findings have implications for understanding how social media facilitates access to alternate experiences and may affect patterns and frequency of social media use.