Sorry, I said that backwards. Economic growth is necessary (at least in the capitalist system we are in). We need things to succeed to deliver economic growth. At a certain point large sacrifices will be made to ensure the success of a new industry that promises economic growth. I don't think VR is at this point yet, but it might be soon.

Cars in the US and the destruction of passenger trains is a good past example. Cars gave consumers more freedom but at a much greater price and thus role in economic growth. We made great investments into highway systems to subsidize the automobile industry. This came at the expense of passenger trains (among other things) which was a direct competitor to the personal car, but operated more efficiently.

Tying back to the original comment, if there is a way to monetize walking that can only be done in VR, incentives will flow towards promoting that VR system to succeed. Those incentives will necessarily undermine the free alternative of actually walking. This is all done in the name of economic growth.