What is the difference between the phrases "lose touch with reality" and "out of touch with reality"? And can I use either of them to describe people who are addicted to video games?
Learn English – the difference between the phrases “lose touch with reality” and “out of touch with reality”
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Related Solutions
I see a small difference between I am fine with it and it is fine for me, which is the same difference between I am unclear (used to express doubt or confusion) and it is unclear to me: in one phrase the grammar subject is I, in the other is it. For example, the focus could be placed on I to mean it is unclear to me, but it can be clear to others, or it is fine with me, and it will be fine with the others too; vice versa, the focus could be put on it to mean it is fine with me, but I don't know what others would think.
Most probably, both the sentences (the one starting with I, and the one starting with it) are understood to mean the same thing from most the people.
Looking for the frequency those, and similar phrases, are used, I get the following data (first chart; second chart):
The phrase reach out and touch is is an idiom because it deliberately conflates two or more different meanings of the word touch and cannot be understood based on the literal meaing of the words used.
The word touch in the phrase is a verb form, and is preceeded by the phrase reach out. In this context, it suggests the following meaning (transitive verb, meaning 1)
To cause or permit a part of the body, especially the hand or fingers, to come in contact with so as to feel: reached out and touched the smooth stone.
However, the context in which the phrase reach out and touch is used rarely, if ever suggests an actual touching. Rather, in the tagline that made it famous, as described in other answers, the contact was at long distance.
Instead it could more readily convey being in touch. This phrase uses touch as a noun form. The phrase in touch means (noun, meaning 14)
The state of being in contact or communication: kept in touch with several classmates; out of touch with current trends
Finally, the word touch can convey an emotional, rather than physical contact (transitive verb, meaning 10).
To affect the emotions of; move to tender response: an appeal that touched us deeply.
Given the layers of meaning, and the non-literal usage, it is an idiom,
Best Answer
Lose touch with reality implies you were once in touch with reality.
Out of touch with reality is silent on whether or not you were ever in touch with reality.
Probably not.
Just because someone feels an overwhelming need to play computer games doesn’t mean they’ve lost touch with reality.
Also, addict is often used in a non-medical way (especially with respect to pop culture), so a video-game addict might just be someone who enjoys playing video games a lot, but doesn't meet the clinical definition of addiction.
However, if your assertion is that in some cases someone is so obsessed with computer games that they simply no longer have any regard for the real world, then you could probably use it. But that would be an extreme case.