[ElevenLathe]

There are a few (TNG and Voyager for sure, maybe DS9 too) Star Trek stories that deal a bit with holodeck addiction ("holo-addiction"), and I think something at that level of immersion would absolutely cause lots of people to completely withdraw from society, especially if (real world) society is bleak (Ready Player One deals with this aspect of it). I already know 30-something childless adults who spend effectively every non-working moment in some virtual world -- these people are effectively already holo-addicted. It will only get worse if these environments are more able to block out reality.

To me the sad thing about my friends in this situation is that they usually aren't in some swashbuckling fantasy epic starring them, but grinding Runescape/WoW/Eve/etc., performing the same repetitive actions over and over, with the occasional burst of actually interesting interaction or story. They've replaced the real-world grind with a synthetic grind, but they are still grinding! At least its cheaper than a sports gambling addiction, and probably marginally less health-destroying than a drinking habit.

[LectronPusher]

This is a major plot point of the book A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. The main antagonist uses high quality VR to trick the brain into full reality from someone else's perspective. The effect on society is grim, and when society is being actively graded by aliens on its worth, this is a big problem.

Highly recommend both books.