Happiness from media is like strength from lifting - is it real strength of the weight is measured precisely and there is an easy to lift handle? Of course it’s real. How we feel reading and vicariously living through stories gives our brains an emotional workout.

All things test us. Whether mentally, physically, emotionally, we are required to use a bit of our willpower/strength/sanity each day because that’s life. Without working on, building, and honing our ability to manage we would always have a personality defining moment where we found the edge of our ability and collapsed from the pressure.

We also see others in that medium and can learn from what they experience. Again, vicarious living is a free tool our brain uses all the time and media is exactly why.

Being entertained is a workout for being a good person not because it builds the imagination but expands our capacity to be a more developed person.