If you are hanging out with friends, pull a little box out of your pocket, press it against the side of your face and start talking to some invisible people and acting as if the people right in front of you don't exist... then you are being a jerk.

But, what if you were physically separated from your friends and wanted to hang out with them. Imagine if you could pull out a little box, press it against your face, start talking to them and suddenly it was as if they were right there with you no matter where they were on Earth. That would be a tremendous social enabler.

VR is like the telephone, but more so.

That's my rant anyway. On a lighter side: You are right that hanging around someone who is playing a game in VR is no fun. And, currently most VR games are still single-player because there currently isn't enough market to support the budgets required for many good networked multiplayer experiences. But, social VR is so awesome that there is no doubt that it will be a major use, if not the majority of use of consumer VR.

Even if you're not playing a multiplayer VR game, the people around you are having a blast watching and playing along with you. See the thousands of YouTube videos where people play VR with friends recording.

  > This is just plain wrong. Please see Rec Room.

I have a 2 year old and wife at home. During regular gaming, if my son or wife want my attention I am aware of it and it's trivial to pause and give them the attention they deserve. Goggles on the other hand are fundamentally isolating. It's hard to describe, but others that aren't sharing the experience with you feel cut off and almost hurt. Maybe that's not the best way to describe it but it's close.

The experience has put me off getting VR at this stage.