I have treated schizophrenics in whom there is a similar loss of grounding. The disease attacks one’s sense of self, the frame where one’s physical and mental reality begin and end. The illness causes people to live in a dream-like world, where thought and sensation blend between people and objects. A patient may believe another person’s ear is actually his ear, stolen in the night. A table might be talking to him. As the parameters that define “self” and “other” dissolve, the risk of violence – suicide or homicide – seems to increase. If somebody were stealing parts of your mind and body, wouldn’t you want to stop it?

The disturbing thing is that Bostrom’s theory is being independently discovered, first-hand, on computers throughout the world. Given enough exposure to virtual reality, people cannot help but begin to question whether their real lives are merely simulations of life. The concept is subversive and potentially toxic to the human mind. More-over, it combines in a particularly noxious way with compulsive computer use. When technology is used compulsively, it soaks up at least 10 to 12 hours a day; it redefines relationships to include virtual entities and objects, like the computer itself; it encourages processing emotion through the computer.

When a person has few real-life relationships, sexual and aggressive impulses get expressed through avatars, games or other online activities. Now, limit access to the computer and make someone live in the real world: this person is alone, without friends, powerless, without physical accomplishments, and with many hours to consider his plight. In the midst of all that, he is questioning the very basics of whether he exists and where. In short, it is a recipe for disaster.