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Fictional characters can be an escape for people, sometimes even resulting in imaginary relationships, getting emotionally attached to someone you have never spoken a word to because this character does not exist in real life.
The problem with these fantasized relationships is that they might affect real people. They can get so attached that they lose sense of reality. People start to believe that, contrary to real life, humans don't have flaws, and that they are just as perfect as the characters they read about in books or watch on TV. Fictional characters can give us what real people don't: control and escapism. You have control over your "interactions" with them and how they behave in your mind. Their personality, their appearance and their behaviour are all things you can change in your idealization of them. You can also escape from reality to avoid your problems, exploring every type of scenario between you and the character.
This unhealthy attachment can cause social anxiety and make you lose your ability to socialize with others.
The idea of inexistent relationships comes from people believing they understand the character, and that they have an excuse for each one of their actions. They know everything about said character and it creates a false sense of intimacy, but that's never the case for real-life people. I'm sure there are always a few things you don't want your loved ones to know about, so you hide it from them. It is impossible to know what goes through real people's minds.
These characters can also offer relatability because they are seen as a better and less flawed version of ourselves. Whilst every real-life person has their flaws, characters can be perfect in our imagination, a version of us that we will never achieve.
Although liking a character can be like love at first sight (there is an attraction but you're not really sure where it comes from since you do not know them), relating to a character is more like seeing yourself in an alternative dimension, a version of us we will never be because nobody is perfect.
In summary, liking or creating friendships with fictional characters can be a good coping mechanism for escaping reality, but it can also create an unhealthy obsession and a blurred vision of the ideal person and/or relationship.
The problem with these fantasized relationships is that they might affect real people. They can get so attached that they lose sense of reality. People start to believe that, contrary to real life, humans don't have flaws, and that they are just as perfect as the characters they read about in books or watch on TV. Fictional characters can give us what real people don't: control and escapism. You have control over your "interactions" with them and how they behave in your mind. Their personality, their appearance and their behaviour are all things you can change in your idealization of them. You can also escape from reality to avoid your problems, exploring every type of scenario between you and the character.
This unhealthy attachment can cause social anxiety and make you lose your ability to socialize with others.
The idea of inexistent relationships comes from people believing they understand the character, and that they have an excuse for each one of their actions. They know everything about said character and it creates a false sense of intimacy, but that's never the case for real-life people. I'm sure there are always a few things you don't want your loved ones to know about, so you hide it from them. It is impossible to know what goes through real people's minds.
These characters can also offer relatability because they are seen as a better and less flawed version of ourselves. Whilst every real-life person has their flaws, characters can be perfect in our imagination, a version of us that we will never achieve.
Although liking a character can be like love at first sight (there is an attraction but you're not really sure where it comes from since you do not know them), relating to a character is more like seeing yourself in an alternative dimension, a version of us we will never be because nobody is perfect.
In summary, liking or creating friendships with fictional characters can be a good coping mechanism for escaping reality, but it can also create an unhealthy obsession and a blurred vision of the ideal person and/or relationship.
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