Letter from the Co-CEO: Is Addiction Also a Virus? by Lynette Lim

Dear Friends,

It has been a while since I have written a letter, so Happy New Year to all of you!  It’s 2020 already!

Usually by this time of the year there would have been an epic snowstorm in my corner of the world (Chicago)–temperatures below -13 Celsius, public schools closed, and suburban colleagues complaining loudly about the mammoth task of shoveling snow.  This year, however, our winter has been very mild, and there is hardly any snow on the ground.  It has been pleasant enough outside for my kids to walk to school every day.  However, if you look at any random Chicagoan, they look unhappy.  When the weather is terrible, we complain; when the weather isn’t so bad, we still look so sad.  Are we humans destined to be miserable?  I wonder.

Walking the Dog

In other parts of the world, especially China, unfortunately no one is walking about freely.  The outbreak of a coronavirus (now specifically known as COVID-19) dampened the usual Lunar New Year festivities.  According to CNN, as of Monday the death toll had surpassed 2,600 with over 79,000 people infected worldwide.  Entire cities have been locked down with no school.  And eating in public in China now has a similar feel to taking an exam.

Masks are sold out (even in the United States) and people are resorting to creative substitutes.  You could even barter a mask for a duck.  If this outbreak prevails, one does expect the slowing down of China’s economy which would then also affect the global economy.

Creative Substitutes for Masks

What is surprising is that Singapore, with a population of only 5.5 million, has the second highest number of reported cases outside China.  The government has declared a nationwide DORSCON Orange, which has caused panic buying.  Shelves in supermarkets were emptied of items including toilet paper, disinfectants and hand sanitizers, rice, and instant noodles.

During this outbreak, it is paramount that we take the necessary precautions to practice personal hygiene, stay away from people who are coughing, and avoid crowded places unless necessary.  (I imagine the amount of hand washing happening in Asia right now must be off the charts.)  While some worry is to be expected, I think it is also important to take a step back and not succumb to fear and senseless panic.  While COVID-19 is more contagious than SARS,  the mortality rate is lower (9.6% for SARS vs. 1%-2% for COVID-19).  

I can’t help but wonder, though—are there any other hidden “viruses” that are just as contagious that we are not aware of?  Are we just as cautious about the viruses that can come into our lives and influence us and kill us without us knowing?  During this time when we are extra vigilant about our own health, especially about COVID-19, are there greater, bigger lessons to learn from this?

While I was walking to work recently and pondering this question, I saw a perfect illustration.  There was a woman in front of me, and on her wrist hung a shiny, sequined clutch bag that glittered even on a gloomy day.  There were two hand sanitizers hanging from the bag.  As we stopped for a traffic light, I noticed something else on her fingers.  It was a lighted cigarette.  I had to laugh.  She had not just one but two sanitizers to clean her hands, and yet with the same hands she was putting poisonous fumes directly into her lungs!  She is far more likely to die from diseases caused by smoking than from any infections that would be prevented by sanitizing.  On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than non-smokers, and smoking is the cause of about one of every five deaths in the US.  I am sure she knows that, but why then does she still keep smoking?  And even more so, why then does she bother to sanitize?

The only way I can understand her behavior is to think that she is addicted to smoking.  As a person who has never smoked in her entire life it is hard for me to understand the allure, but I can imagine that no matter how bad it is for her physically, the drug is so addictive that in her mind it is still “worth taking the chance.”

Actually, you can think of addiction just like a virus: once it invades your body or mind it is hard to get rid of it; it takes over your body and you have to consciously do things that will fight against it or you will finally succumb to the disease and die from it.  Just like COVID-19, prevention is always better than cure.  It is better not to smoke than to try to quit smoking.

As I think about the various “viruses” that could infect us, I observe that the most dangerous sorts are really the ones that we consider harmless; they creep up on you and you become an addict before you even realize it.

So what are the “viruses” and addictions that we are falling victim to but are not aware of?  One of the most glaringly obvious modern-day addictions for mankind is the smartphone.  According to Rescuetime.com, the average time spent on the phone is 3 hours and 15 minutes a day, and the average person checks their phones 58 times a day. There are very smart people in corporations working to give you an instant “high” when your screen lights up with new notifications.  Without knowing it, we have allowed the viruses of different corporations into our minds. 

Our addictions to our phones have affected our overall productivity.  Psychologists have found that even brief mental blocks created by shifting between tasks can cost as much as 40% of your productive time.  We also expect to be interrupted by our phones, which creates a distraction in itself because we are not fully invested in what we are doing.  For myself personally, I see this as by far the most dangerous virus.  I see my own kids being drawn to playing computer games as much as possible and see kids with zombie eyes because they spent the whole night online.  I also see myself, especially when I am stressed, go mindlessly to my iPhone to scroll through things I don’t even want to buy because I just want to distract myself.  To further the analogy of how addiction to our phones is a like a virus, we also share with one another the items that interest us, and when this happens, it is called “going viral.”

What viruses do you think are invading your life without you knowing?  Which ones are you fighting against?

Here’s to your health.