Seems like a symptom, not a cause. Escapism for the psychologically inflicted and chronically unemployed.

I don't know. Escapism before the advent of technology generally meant writing letters, reading books, walking, drinking, and visiting friends. All these activities seem to promote mental health and productive behavior compared to digital media. Digital media generally discourages socializing (or at least not real human interaction), discourages sleep, promotes a lack of physical exercise, et al.

Maybe I'm wrong, I'm not trying to argue; just talking out loud about my perceptions as a Software Engineering, Civ5, and CSGo player.