I'm a bit less active in virtual environments as I'm rather busy in the physical world as a journalist. One of the big issues of course always has been how to allocate time between the virtual and the physical realms.
But there is something else. Have a look at the Escalate to deescalate signal. Since the war in Ukraine and the irrational behavior of Russia's president, I've been looking into the odds of nuclear conflict. The probability of such a catastrophy over the next hundred years is far higher than I thought, and these were calculations before the most recent episode of human lunacy. The whole idea that "nuclear war won't happen since it would destroy Earth for everybody" is far too optimistic. It's very well possible that people in high places start to toy around with scenarios involving tactical, so-called limited use of nuclear weapons.
I find this a rather depressing development. Of course, virtual worlds could be used to "increase empathy", but good luck with that when dealing with paranoid dictators. Or they can be used to escape into a dream world, waiting for the worst. I think I'd rather make a walk along the shore of the physical sea.