Column: Metaverse: Entertainment or captivity? Our health hinges on what we choose

Is the burgeoning meta- verse a crescendo in entertainment or the ultimate in profit-driven consumer captivity?

We remain a country divided in our perspectives on freedom. Just months ago, only after a high-level whistleblower testified before Congress that Facebook puts profit before safety, disinformation and extremism, the behemoth changed its name to Meta. The rebrand reflects a pivot from social platforms to augmented reality and shared virtual worlds we can all live and game in.

Millions are only too happy to melt further into their screens, moving less, gaining weight and fueling diabetes. In fact, U.S. diabetes deaths just topped 100,000 for the second straight year, a new record. It is vital that we resist the dopamine screen-buzz and rise up to meet and see things as they truly are, and then to do the work to make a difference. There is much to be done.

On the other side of the divide, a powerful get-off-screen counter-trend is on the rise, as evidenced by Netflix’s recent quarterly earnings that revealed slowing subscriber growth, causing a 20% drop in its stock price. After enduring two hard years of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions are yearning to break free from their screens, feel the breeze and return to face-to-face, real-­time social engagement.

This struggle is depicted in “The Matrix Resurrections,” the new Keanu Reeves movie, which resurrects his character Neo, who is trying to live an ordinary life as a video game developer but can no longer distinguish his dreams from reality. In an effort to truly know himself, Neo joins with Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) and others as they work to defeat the manufactured illusion that is keeping humanity enslaved.

The tendency to turn away from challenges of the day and become screen-bound is understandable. With the new year has emerged an unpredictable and belligerent Russia, all but committed to at least some measure of military aggression toward Ukraine. Ripple effects are already affecting defense, commodity and energy sectors as additional geopolitical theaters watch and wait.

The capital markets are on a wild ride in any case as the U.S. Federal Reserve attempts to negotiate inflation. Climate change marches on with a global response that is, at best, lukewarm. The massive underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga is a terse and timely reminder of the fierceness of Mother Earth.

The latest variant of interest, stealth omicron, comes almost as a relief rather than a surprise. Several times, this column has covered the relationship between frequency of replication of the COVID-19 virus and the likelihood of mutation during the march from native disease to alpha, to delta/delta plus, to omicron and now stealth omicron. Fortunately, while stealth omicron is up to 50% more contagious than omicron, it would appear, at least so far, not to be more severe than omicron while still vulnerable to current vaccines.

There is now a majority who are vaccinated and boosted and wish to determine how to manage their own risk, according to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. He declared that the emergency is over. Still, if hospitals are overwhelmed, it is everyone’s problem, and this is certainly a Hawaii problem. COVID-19 has taken a chronic shortage of physicians and nurses and placed an additional, powerful long-term stress on a fragile health care system.

Unfortunately, our collective view remains stubbornly short-term. It is critical that we realize how fortuitous it is that omicron, which is more contagious than delta, happens to be less virulent. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House medical adviser on COVID-19, recently warned that we could still face a worst-case scenario for 2022 should a mutation arise that can evade vaccines and natural immunity. It could even happen this spring.

So why not just wear Oculus virtual-reality headsets made by Meta, blot out the COVID-19 and live in the new metaverse? A rash of as-yet nonexistent virtual countries and economies are promised by Meta, which is now hiring 10,000 more workers in the European Union alone to build the “Verse.” The problem is that the more we sit, hypnotized by our screens, the less we move and sleep and the more we eat, gain weight and fuel the diabetes epidemic. If unchecked, obesity and diabetes will naturally result in sleep apnea, heart disease, stroke, musculoskeletal pain and depression.

If the metaverse seems like an exciting new opportunity for the penultimate entertainment, think again. Genuine freedom requires sustained clarity, focus and sacrifice.

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Dr. Ira Zunin is a practicing physician. He is medical director of Manakai o Malama Integrative Healthcare Group and Rehabilitation Center. Please submit your questions to info@manakaiomalama.com.