So, I admittedly didn't read the whole thread here but there's something I've been thinking about lately I'd like to get some other people's thoughts on.

It seems many of us watch or read some type of drama, be it anime or live-action, fantasy or sci-fi. Now, does it bother you at all that perhaps this media we consume is a drug. A social drug. We don't socialize--root cause of that aside--but we're still human, we still long for some sort of social connection and we fulfill that with one-way connections to fictional characters.

There's a study somewhere suggesting that substituting media for real relationships is actually highly effective at mollifying need for social interaction, except that the "crash" when the series/movie/book ends can be even worse.

I know for me I watched "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and fell hopelessly in love with Katara. Watched "Densha Otoko" and "Boys Over Flowers," same thing.

Thoughts, guys?