In late 2019, I recorded a series of talks for Tricycle magazine about how Buddhist practices can help us overcome social media and internet addiction. These talks were published online in January of the following year. While waiting for them to be published, I decided to turn my notes into six articles. This introduction is the first, followed by five more, each focusing on a different tool.
I’ve elaborated a bit more in the articles than I did in the talks because you always think of more to say afterward! You can find links to the five parts in the original text.
I’ve personally battled social media addiction. My work requires me to spend a lot of time online, and this often pulled me into social media. Like many, I carry my phone everywhere, a device that offers endless distractions rather than being used for calls.
Due to constant online access, I would spend excessive amounts of time on the internet. My work suffered, and I often stayed up too late reading intriguing articles, mainly about science and psychology. While the reading was enriching, it deprived me of sleep. Despite my love for books, I struggled to focus on them, making life feel less fulfilling.
Sometimes, I also got caught up in online arguments, which left me feeling anxious and angry. Logging into social media started to cause stress, with my heart pounding, especially if I craved attention and worried about the response to my posts. These are all forms of suffering.
I don’t enjoy suffering, so naturally, I wondered how my Buddhist practice could help me with my online addiction. I’m sharing tools I’ve found useful, hoping they might help you too if you’re dealing with similar issues.
By the time I wrote these articles, I had mostly overcome my addictions. However, I still struggled with spending too much time on Twitter, which negatively impacted my mental state. Persevering with these techniques eventually 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’s about the compulsive use of it even when it has harmful effects on us and others. Compulsion here means we feel out of control and find it hard to stop. The thought of quitting often brings discomfort, leading to shame and dishonesty about our addiction.
I use “social media” broadly. It’s relevant not just for sites like Facebook or Twitter but also for those who are hooked on online games or compulsively check the news.
The Buddha didn’t specifically talk about the internet or social media but did offer wisdom on overcoming addictive thoughts and behaviors. There’s a discourse, or sutta, called the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, or the “Discourse on Quieting Thinking,” that provides a good overview of these tools.
“Vitakka” means “thinking,” and “santhana” means “resting place,” implying “end, stopping, cessation.” Here, “thinking” includes urges intertwined with thoughts. Often, we act on an urge without verbalizing it, like picking up our phone to check social media automatically. In Buddhist terms, that urge is a “thought.”
This discourse fundamentally helps in letting go of unhelpful urges or habits. While many interpret the Vitakkasanthana as guidance for meditation, it doesn’t specifically mention it. The principles it offers can be applied to any part of our lives, including social media use.
The discourse proposes five tools, suggesting you start with the first and move to the next if it doesn’t work.
Here’s an overview of these five tools:
1. Replace the unwholesome thought with a wholesome one.
2. Consider the drawbacks of the unwholesome thought.
3. Ignore the thought and divert your attention.
4. Examine the causes of the thought and remove them.
5. Use force of will to eliminate the thought.
Each tool comes with illustrations. Some are engaging and useful, though others might not be as directly helpful.
These tools offer a robust collection for overcoming addictive behaviors and the associated negative emotions like anger and anxiety. I will go through each tool, explaining what the Buddha said, including his illustrations, and how to make these tools practical.
That’s it for now. I hope you’ll find this series of articles useful.
Can you recognize addictive behavior in your social media use? What suffering does it bring? How does your compulsion show? Could you try giving up social media for a day or two? Notice what holds you back if you can’t. If you do manage to give it up, how do you feel—joy, relief, craving, anxiety?
Using Buddhist tools to gradually limit and manage social media use requires willpower but can significantly help in reducing dependency.
Take this journey step-by-step, applying practical techniques from ancient wisdom to tackle modern challenges.