In late 2019, I recorded a series of talks for “Tricycle” magazine about using Buddhist tools to overcome social media and internet addiction. These talks were posted online in January of the following year, but in the meantime, I decided to turn my notes into a series of six articles—this introduction and one article for each of the five tools I discussed.
I’ve expanded a bit on what I said in the talks because, naturally, I realized there were things I hadn’t mentioned. Here are the links to all five parts.
I must admit, I’ve struggled with social media addiction myself. Because of my teaching, I spend a lot of time online, and I’ve had to face the challenge of getting sucked into social media. Like most people, I carry around a device we call a “phone,” although I hardly ever use it to make calls. It’s more like a glass portal to endless distractions.
Spending a lot of time online and having this device with me all the time, I often found myself wasting too much time on the internet. My work would suffer, and I’d stay up late reading fascinating articles, mostly about science and psychology. While the content was good, I couldn’t stop, which led to a lack of sleep. I also found it hard to concentrate on reading books—the deep immersion I used to enjoy was gone, and life felt shallower as a result.
Sometimes, there were additional problems, like getting involved in online disputes, which caused anger and anxiety. I found myself craving attention, anxiously checking if my posts were liked or shared. All these issues caused suffering.
I don’t enjoy suffering, so I started wondering how my Buddhist practice could help me overcome this addiction. I’m sharing some tools that have helped me in case you face similar challenges.
By the time I wrote these articles, I had mostly overcome my addictions, although I still spent too much time on Twitter, which affected my mental state. Fortunately, with continued practice of the techniques discussed here, I managed to disengage from Twitter as well.
When I mention social media addiction, I don’t mean just enjoying social media. I mean the compulsive use of it despite its harmful consequences. Compulsion here means feeling out of control and struggling to stop. The thought of quitting can cause unpleasant feelings and shame, leading us to be dishonest about our addiction.
I’m using the term “social media” broadly. It includes not just sites like Facebook or Twitter but also online games or compulsive news checking.
The Buddha didn’t specifically talk about the internet or social media, but he did provide advice on overcoming compelling patterns of thought and behavior. One particular discourse, the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, or “Discourse on Quieting Thinking,” offers useful insights.
“Vitakka” means “thinking” and “santhana” means “resting place” or “cessation.” In this context, “thinking” includes not just inner dialogue but also urges entangled with those thoughts. Sometimes, you act on an urge without any verbal thought, like picking up your phone to check social media without even realizing it. This urge, in Buddhist terms, is a “thought.”
The discourse is fundamentally about letting go of unhelpful urges or habits. Most people think the Vitakkasanthana Sutta is about quieting unhelpful urges during meditation, but its principles can be applied in any context, including social media use. You might as well call it the Social Media Sutra.
The discourse offers five tools. You start with the first one, and if it doesn’t work, you move on to the next one.
These five approaches provide an impressive collection of tools for overcoming addictive behaviors and the accompanying anger and anxiety. I’ll go through each tool in turn, explaining what the Buddha said and how to apply these tools practically.
That’s it for today. I hope you enjoy this series of blog posts.
Notice any addictive patterns in your social media use. How does this behavior make you suffer? How does your compulsion manifest? Can you experiment with giving up social media, even for a day or two? What prevents you from doing this? If you do give it up for a short period, do you experience joy, relief, craving, or anxiety?
Consider treating it as a limited-time experiment, gradually reducing your social media usage. This simple approach, though it requires a lot of willpower, can definitely help reduce social media overuse.
Bodhipaksa has published a series of six posts on mindful and self-compassionate tools for overcoming social media addiction, applying ancient texts to modern problems. Just as the Dhamma was relevant over two millennia ago, it remains relevant today.
Looking forward to helping you overcome social media addiction mindfully.