In late 2019, I recorded a series of talks for “Tricycle” magazine. These discussions focused on how Buddhist tools can help us overcome social media and internet addiction. Although the talks weren’t posted online until January of the following year, I decided to expand my notes into a series of articles in the meantime. There are six pieces in total—this introduction and one article for each of the five tools.
I’ve added more to what I initially discussed in the talks because, naturally, after giving a talk, you always realize there were more things you could have said. Here are links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
I openly admit that I used to be addicted to social media. Because of the way I teach, I spend a lot of time online and often found myself getting sucked into social media. Like most people, I carry my device around. We call it a “phone,” but it’s really a glass portal to endless distractions.
Spending so much time online, and having that device always at hand, I often spent more time on the internet than I wanted. My work suffered, and sometimes I stayed up too late reading fascinating articles, usually about science and psychology. While the content was good, I couldn’t stop, which led to sleep deprivation. Even though I’ve always loved reading books, I struggled to stay focused on them, making life feel shallower without that deep immersion.
There were additional problems, too. Online disputes would make me angry and anxious, to the point where logging into my social media accounts made my heart race. I found myself craving attention, anxiously checking if my posts were liked or shared. These are all forms of suffering.
I don’t like suffering, so I naturally asked myself, “How can my Buddhist practice help me with my online addiction?” I’m going to share some tools I’ve found useful, especially if you have similar experiences with online addiction.
At the time I wrote these articles, I had mostly kicked my addiction, although I sometimes struggled with spending too much time on Twitter, which negatively affected my mental state. Thankfully, by continuing to practice the techniques I’ll share, I managed to disengage from Twitter as well.
First, let’s define social media addiction. It’s not just enjoying social media; it’s the compulsive use of it despite harmful consequences for ourselves and others. Compulsion makes us feel out of control and makes the idea of quitting bring about unpleasant feelings. This often leads to shame and dishonesty about how addicted we truly are.
When I say “social media,” I mean it broadly. This can include social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, online games, or even compulsively checking the news.
The Buddha didn’t mention the internet or social media, but he talked a lot about overcoming compelling thoughts and behaviors. There’s one discourse, known as the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, or the “Discourse on Quieting Thinking,” that provides a good overview of the tools he offered. “Vitakka” means “thinking” and “santhana” means “end” or “cessation.”
In this context, “thinking” isn’t just our internal dialogue but also the urges entangled with those thoughts. Sometimes you act on an urge without any verbal thought at all, like habitually picking up your phone to check social media. These urges are considered “thoughts” in Buddhist terms.
This discourse is fundamentally about letting go of unhelpful urges and habits. Many interpret the Vitakkasanthana Sutta as being about quieting urges during meditation, but it doesn’t specifically mention meditation. These principles can apply to any part of our lives, including our social media use. In a way, you might think of the Vitakkasanthana Sutta as a guide to dealing with social media addiction.
The discourse offers five tools to help manage these compulsions. You’re encouraged to start with the first tool, and if that doesn’t work, move on to the next, and so on.
I’ll provide an overview of the five tools:
Each tool comes with an illustration, some more engaging and helpful than others.
These five approaches offer a robust collection of tools to overcome addictive behaviors as well as the associated emotions like anger and anxiety. I’ll detail each tool, explaining the Buddha’s teachings and how to practically apply them.
Notice any addictive behaviors in your social media use and the suffering it causes. How does your compulsion manifest? Can you experiment with giving up social media for a day or two? If you can’t, notice what’s preventing you. If you do give it up, observe your feelings—joy, relief, craving, anxiety?
The key is to approach it as a limited time window and gradually reduce usage. Though it requires willpower, this simple method can significantly cut down social media use.
This series by Bodhipaksa applies ancient teachings to modern problems, demonstrating how the Dhamma is as relevant today as it was millennia ago. I hope you find these insights and tools helpful.
That’s it for today. I hope you enjoy this series of blog posts.
Click here to read about the first tool, Pivoting Toward the Skillful.