All new technologies that enabled people to spend leisure time by themselves were met with the same degree of skepticism and even moral panic - starting with printing and mass alphabetization. Really - there was a concern back in the 17th century that people will stop socializing among themselves if they can just retreat with a book. Same then for TV, etc.

All of these enriched lives (and were potentially dystopic when *some* people misused them), by and large. It's going to be the same for the metaverse, it all depends on how it's used, but the potential for it to be an overall positive change is there.

Regarding the solitude, VR games can be experienced together in the physical space. You can share the joy with the person next to you even if you can't make eye contact, just by talking or holding hands and exchanging impressions. Of course, this doesn't mean everyone should do this for hours upon hours a day, or that the metaverse doesn't have the potential to exclude and discriminate, etc. But as long as the potential downsides are properly addressed, there's no need to be doomy and gloomy about it just because it's new and that it requires eye-covering tech.