10 More Crazy Star Trek Fan Theories
6. Holo-Addiction Is A Common Condition In The 24th Century
If you ask most fans what Star Trek technologies they wish were real, chances are that the holodeck will be high up on their lists. This tech is the natural evolution of VR: fully immersive worlds complete with realistic characters and stories. In a holodeck simulation reality can be whatever the user desires, no matter how unrealistic or even disturbing.
With capabilities like this it makes sense that people would become lost in these virtual realities and obsess over them to the point where the real world becomes secondary. This is what's referred to as holo-addiction in Star Trek.
Strangely, we haven't seen many examples of holo-addiction in Trek so far. The most famous example is Reginald Barclay who suffered from the condition in the Next Generation episode Hollow Pursuits. He was an extremely anxious person and found it difficult to form relationships with real people, so he created holographic caricatures of the Enterprise crew to talk to, take out his aggression, and even be romantic with. He eventually moved past his addiction, but relapsed in the Voyager episode Pathfinder.
Barclay's struggle was certainly an example of this addictive behaviour but one has to assume that the condition must be pretty common. Given the opportunity to live any life you want and to do or see anything imaginable would be too fantastic for most people to resist, even in a utopian future.