Back in late 2019, I recorded a series of talks for “Tricycle” magazine about how Buddhist tools can help overcome social media and internet addiction. These talks weren’t published online until January of the following year. Meanwhile, I decided to turn my notes into a series of six articles—an introduction like this one, and one article for each of the five tools discussed.
I’ve added a bit more detail compared to what I covered in my talks. It’s amazing how much more you think of after the fact! Here are links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
I admit, I used to be addicted to social media. Because my work involves a lot of online engagement, I found myself getting pulled into social media a lot. Like most people, I have a device that I called a “phone,” but I rarely used it for calls. Instead, it became a gateway to endless distractions.
Spending so much time online and constantly carrying this device, I’d often spend excessive hours on the internet. This affected my productivity, and I’d end up staying awake too late, engrossed in articles about science and psychology. While these topics were interesting, I just couldn’t stop, and I’d lose sleep. Even my ability to focus on reading books diminished. Without the deep immersion that books provided, life started to feel shallow.
Sometimes, additional issues cropped up, like getting into online disputes. These made me angry and anxious; my heart would race whenever I logged in to my social media accounts, craving likes and shares. Clearly, all these are forms of suffering.
Naturally, I started wondering, “How can my Buddhist practice help me with this addiction to online activities?”
I’m going to share some tools that have helped me, which might be useful for you too if you’re struggling with similar online habits.
By the time I wrote these articles, I had mostly overcome my addictions, though I still faced challenges, particularly with spending too much time on Twitter. This had a negative effect on my mental health. Fortunately, continuing to practice these techniques helped me disengage from Twitter as well.
So, what do I mean by social media addiction? It’s not just about enjoying social media; it refers to compulsive use despite harmful consequences for ourselves and others. This compulsion makes it difficult to stop and quitting can trigger intense negative feelings. Often, this leads to shame, and we end up lying to ourselves about our addiction.
When I talk about “social media,” I’m using the term broadly. It encompasses not only platforms like Facebook or Twitter but also online games and even compulsively checking news sites.
Obviously, the Buddha didn’t say anything specifically about the internet or social media, but he did address overcoming compelling patterns of thoughts and behaviors. One discourse, the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, translates to the “Discourse on Quieting Thinking.” It offers profound tools for overcoming unhelpful urges and habits.
In this context, “thinking” refers to more than just talking to ourselves internally; it includes the urges tied to those thoughts. Sometimes, urges happen without any verbal thought—like picking up your phone and opening a social media app automatically. In Buddhist terms, this urge is a form of “thought.”
So, this discourse is fundamentally about letting go of these unhelpful urges or habits. While many interpret the Vitakkasanthana as focusing on meditation, its principles apply broadly, including in our social media usage. You might even think of it as the Social Media Sutra.
The discourse presents five tools. It suggests starting with the first tool and, if that doesn’t work, moving on to the next. Each tool is illustrated with examples. Some are very engaging and helpful, while others might be less immediately relatable.
These five tools offer a rich set of strategies for overcoming addictive behaviors and the related emotions like anger and anxiety. I’ll be diving into each tool, explaining what the Buddha said, along with practical applications.
That’s all for today. I hope you’ll find this series of posts helpful.
Notice any addictive patterns around your social media use. What kind of suffering do they lead to? How does your compulsion manifest itself? Can you experiment with giving up social media, even for just a day or two? If not, identify what’s stopping you. What do you feel if you do manage to give it up for a short period—joy, relief, craving, or anxiety?
Taking control of social media usage might seem simple but requires substantial willpower. With focused effort, reducing social media time is definitely achievable.
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