In a series of six posts, I discuss how we can break free from our addiction to social media using teachings from early Buddhist scriptures. These teachings come from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, which introduces five strategies for overcoming persistent thoughts and urges.
I call it “the Social Media Sutra” since it’s a catchier and more relevant name that directly applies to our lives today. Now, let’s dive into the fifth and final tool, which might surprise you: sheer willpower.
The Buddha’s last resort tool involves using intense willpower. Picture this: with teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, the practitioner should forcefully control their mind with mind. This strong effort helps eliminate unwanted thoughts.
This method sounds harsh and quite forceful, like a strong person grabbing a weaker one. It may seem surprising for the Buddha to endorse such a technique, but strict measures are sometimes necessary. However, this method should only be used when other strategies fail.
I’ve used this approach myself, especially during late-night internet surfing sessions. Although I read interesting content, it often deprives me of sleep. A wave of disgust at my behavior usually makes me shut my laptop abruptly, breaking the cycle of compulsive surfing. However, this isn’t purely willpower at work; it’s more like an automatic response.
Fortunately, there are better and less harsh ways to manage our urges. You can preemptively use your willpower when you’re not caught up in craving. Decisions like deleting social media apps from your phone make it harder to access those services. You can also use parental safety settings to block certain sites entirely.
For an even more drastic measure, you can delete your social media accounts altogether. I did this with my Instagram account because it made me crave validation that I wasn’t getting. Similarly, I deleted my Facebook account due to issues with privacy and the negative nature of interactions there.
Research shows that quitting social media makes us happier, yet many hesitate because of addiction and the mistaken belief that these platforms are essential for happiness. It’s a lie; we managed fine before social media existed.
After getting rid of my Facebook and Instagram, Twitter was the last social media platform I used. Although less consuming, it still negatively affected my well-being by fostering outrage and wasting time. Checking Twitter in the morning often led to unproductive, time-consuming sessions.
The final “willpower” trick I used was more forceful: locking myself out of my social media account. By changing my password to something nonsense and not noting it down, I created a barrier to accessing my account. Although I could technically get back in using the “forgot password” feature, the extra step was enough to keep me off Twitter for months.
This last tool has been effective for me. Locking myself out of social media feels like taking control at a time when my addictive urges aren’t in full swing. This strategy helps create barriers to acting on those urges, making it easier to manage them.
To summarize, we’ve explored five tools from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta to help free our minds from obsessive thinking and compulsive urges. Thank you for joining me in this series on using the Dharma to overcome social media addiction. I am deeply grateful to share these teachings and hope we all progress towards mindfulness, compassion, and joy.