A seat on a long-haul flight is short on personal space, it is pretty much "I'm in public, but I'd rather not be". So wearable devices and sleep masks that signal "leave me alone" are quite common already. Creating "virtual personal space" doesn't seem like a bad idea.
There are many good ideas that many can't afford, there's no contradiction here.
long-haul economy flights aren't luxury, but neither are they poverty.
If I have to long-haul economy, then I usually create virtual personal space by splashing out $10 on some kindle books, and when my eyes finally glaze over, a sleep mask as a cheaper VR headset and "leave me alone" signal.
