In Ernest Cline's 2011 book,
Ready Player One, the protagonist, Wade Watts, distracts himself from his tragic, apocalyptic surroundings by connecting to the Metaverse - to a place called the Oasis. An old laptop, haptic clothing, 3D headsets and a personalized Avatar all help him escape into an alternative digital reality. People in the Oasis can become someone new, different and better. In the Oasis, one can dress up, change voices, change genders, create new personas and drive nice cars. It is a sensory explosion of sounds, physical touch, avatars and 3D immersive experiences.
One of the many interesting concepts to come out of this book is that characters go into deep financial debt in the physical world to enhance their digital lives. Metaphorically speaking, they starve in the physical world in order to feast in the digital. They re-prioritize their financial investments from the earth to the digital Aether to improve their status and experiences there.
