DFW predicted the rise of an entertainment so engrossing that people lost interest in doing anything else[1]. From bookworms to couch potatoes to video game addiction[2], we have seen ever-enriched simulations develop over the last few hundred years. People are already dying from neglecting their "meatspace" selves[3]; this will only increase in popularity. This does give some hint as to what people will "do" post-singularity[4].

1: Infinite Jest

2: Videgame Addiction was rejected from the next DSM, but I believe that we will see a form of it added within our lifetimes.

3: This has been happening for almost ten years: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-scarcity_economy

I think "The Entertainment" from Infinite Jest was an exaggeration rather than a direct prediction. I mean, a single glance at the screen would freeze someone in place and make one willing to cut off the fingers of another in order to continue watching. "The Entertainment" was also entirely non-interactive and non-social, whereas Starcraft and MMOs have strong interactive elements.

Far more interesting was the bit about the rise and fall of video chat, where people became so self-conscious about their appearance they eventually altered or covered them up before returning to audio-only. Kottke brought this up in relation to Facetime[1].

http://kottke.org/10/06/david-foster-wallace-on-iphone-4s-fa...

I am speaking more of direct sensory based shock, at "dying" or fear (horror genre), as apposed to "neglecting meatspace concerns".

Like it or not, that may be the future, where we're always "plugged in". We already do that with the Internet. We may even feel physical pain from not being able to access the Internet for a few days, and dearly "miss" it. I imagine this sort of feeling will only become more powerful as technology becomes more advanced, more connected, and more realistic.

But I don't think it's all bad. I think it will help with so many things we aren't even foreseeing yet.

The first solid MMORPG for this will be worth billions.

Brainstorm: A team of scientists invents "the Hat", a brain/computer interface that allows sensations to be recorded from a person's brain and converted to tape so that others can experience them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorm_(1983_film)

Also: Strange Days, Total Recall and Blade Runner.

and Final Cut, and a whole host of made-for-TV movies, depending on how much you're willing to relax the theme.

awesome movies!

Except for the remake of total recall... That sucked!

In response to your parent, there's also the movie by Wim Wenders "Until the end of the world"

Where IIRC a scientist creates a device that can record dreams and his wife becomes totally addicted to the experience and just can't stop playing and re-playing her dreams.

I think it's in Until the end of the world but cannot swear it ; )

Good movie anyway...

And then there's the movie which is a reflection on immersive videogame as the main plot: David Cronenberg's Existenz. Existenz is considered a flop by many, but an underrated movie by quite some people too.