We are in the early age of virtual communities. In the future I think we will see humans that never leave a room for years, because they are in a virtual world. Playing games, or just enjoying different planets, and interacting with other humans and AI programs in generated 3D environments. Then the mind won't have any issues because it is all so real. the issues will be health issues due to lack of exercise. The mind will be fine. We should design some gym machines to exercise inside the room, which are connected to that virtual world, and their blockchains, that generate essential tokens to continue living in that virtual world. Then the players earn their tokens by exercising so they can continue to live in the virtual world, otherwise, leave and go to the dying warming planet outside.
Sorry... I got carried away a bit :D
You both shared a great idea and a grim vision, but I happen to enjoy both thoughts.
Gotta say, I agree with your initial premise. Humanity will certainly devolve into a chair-bound species of interactive goons... but not for long. Though exercise machines would help, eventually people would simply start to wither as their bodies broke down from a thousand illnesses (infections, vascular collapse, etc) each more tenacious than the last. Simply because humans just aren't evolved for such, and never will be.
It's like microgravity. Folks think the most dangerous part of space travel is lack of food or oxygen... but it's not. Though those are tremendous primary concerns, even if supplies of both were 100% stable, people don't do well. It's not muscle atrophy either, everyone has heard of that. It's that Every. Single. Cell. has been developed specifically in (and for) a Gravity 1.0 system. Going outside of that for long, even to something as mild as a Grav 0.95 environment would likely be disastrous, longterm.
So I don't think the virtual reality scourge, as I put it, will carry on so far as you think.. Probably a good generation or two (including the millennials) will be lost to it, but if civilized folks ain't got their shit together after then, there's a whole rest-of-the-planet waiting to step into their place in line. =)
I prefer to think that the people that will live on Mars for example, or travelling to other stars, will be able to adapt and evolve differently. Of course it is not easy. But it will be possible. They won't be able to go back to Earth and live with that strong gravity. Many will die, but some of them will evolve. Look at all the diversity of animals on the planet constantly evolving. Humans are no different. It's like telling a minnow... you are never going to be able to live outside the sea, in that solid rocks out there... don't go there you will die !!! You will never be able to breath out there or have legs to walk. One thing is sure... a minnow cannot become a whale in just one day hehe Give it time... a lot of time ;-)