I used to feel suicidal in high school because I had shitty friends and my family was mostly disappointing. The minute I got an iPhone and went to college that feeling completely disappeared for about 10 years. I don't know what to tell you. Pretty sure my life is worse than yours right now. It's the best time to be alive in general. You can do anything. So go do it and be happy.
Without reading the article, my opinion is that whatever potential exists in this idea is rooted in the fact that people buy all sorts of things in video games all the time. Buying virtual things in video games is wildly popular.
We never got real 5G anyway. It was really 4G Plus riding the marketing hype of 5G. Real 5G requires little cell towers in every neighborhood. I think a few big cities implemented it, but most didn't.