State-of-the-art immersion rigs cost money. That means that even the rich people in this world want to escape it. It must be one big bummer of a place.

It's a new way of life. People stay connected to it for the majority of a day sometimes. Does such a massive time investment make something "real"? If people are spending most of their time there, doesn't that make it almost more real than the real world?

Anonymity not only allows people to live how they want and as who they want, but it also allows people to be total jerks without repercussion. I-R0k falls into this category, wouldn't you say?