[jstanley]

100 years ago people would have said the same about having the internet in your house and using the computer of an evening.

In the future, if everything you care about is in VR, then not being in VR would be shutting yourself off from the world, the same as not using the internet is shutting oneself off from the world today (for some of us).

[kibwen]

A future where "everything that you care about is in VR" describes a hellish dystopia. Even in a future where humans spend large amounts of time in virtual spaces, our meat bodies still appreciate going for walks in the park.

[MikeTheRocker]

The average American spends something like 3 hours per day watching TV, and upwards of 6 hours of total screen time, according to a quick Google search. Is it really that much of a stretch to imagine a world where the screens we use are part of a head-mounted display?

Think about any time you've been on a bus, train or plane -- most people on board are using their phones or tablets. I suspect within this decade it's common for those devices to be supplanted by AR/VR headsets.

[red-iron-pine]

> The average American spends something like 3 hours per day watching TV

Would Better Call Saul be a better story in VR?

One of the things that makes shows and movies good is tight editing and focus; a VR system where I can look around is the antithesis of that.

Same way I feel about open world games like GTA V vs. something like Bioshock which is highly linear but also highly directed.

But FWIW I'm totally with you about the airplane headset, never have I wanted to be somewhere else then when I'm on a plane...

[practice9]

To the defence of VR, most of the experiences encourage standing up and moving. Whereas laptops, desktop monitors, phones are back / neck / arm-killing machines, as ergonomics are the last thing companies are thinking about and customer does not really care until they start having health problems.

To be fair Meta's VR headsets are pretty heavy, which is also bad for the neck, but evolutional pressure will bring the futures headsets' weight down, as ergonomics is on a critical path for these devices adoption.

[b112]

A future where "everything that you care about is in VR" describes a hellish dystopia

Isn't that the way it is now? Used to be, you'd all get together at the town hall, to discuss problems with the city.

Now people use twitter and Facebook, and community involvement is at an all time low.

We're already in VR version 1. Nothing online is "real"!

In VR2 people will still go for walks in the park, but just as now, where everone is walking and staring at their phone, people will be in VR2 while walking their dog.

[mingus88]

I quit social media in 2012 (including FB properties like Whatsapp), but I'm still active on many forum/aggregator sites like Reddit and HN

Ten years in I def feel like I've cut myself off from the world in a significant way. I feel like my Boomer parents now, seeing local events advertised in traditional media instead of on Facebook or in some feed.

The _major_ upside is that I am pretty out of the loop with so much meme-based misinformation and influence. It's crazy to see what people are consuming daily.

I just really hope that VR doesn't go the same way. The 90s cyberpunk vision was you'd jack into this wild west and have access to everything. The current reality is that you're just getting another Marc Zuckerberg-esque curated reality. Thanks but no thanks.

[qwytw]

For every success story comparable to the "internet" there are dozens or way more technologies and ideas which led nowhere.

To be fair it's not that I'm doubting VR in general just Facebook's vision (or lack of one) of what the Metaverse is supposed to be.