Back in late 2019, I recorded some talks for “Tricycle” magazine about using Buddhist tools to combat social media and internet addiction. While the talks went live in January the following year, I decided to turn my notes into a series of six articles—this introduction plus five articles, one for each tool.
I’ve expanded on what I talked about in those sessions. Like many, I later thought of all the things I could have said but didn’t.
Here are the links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
I’ve been a social media addict myself. My teaching requires me to spend a lot of time online, and I often found myself getting drawn into social media. Much like everyone else, I carry a device we call a “phone,” though it’s more like a glass portal leading to endless distractions.
Since I spent a lot of time online and carried this device everywhere, I found myself wasting too much time on the internet. My work suffered, and sometimes I stayed up late reading intriguing articles on science and psychology. Although what I read was interesting, I couldn’t stop and ended up losing sleep. My ability to focus on books, which I loved deeply, diminished, making life feel somewhat shallow.
There were other issues too. For instance, I got involved in online disputes that made me anxious and angry, with my heart racing as I logged into social media. I also craved attention, often logging in to see if my posts were “liked” or shared. All of these are different forms of suffering.
I don’t enjoy suffering, so I naturally wondered, “How can my Buddhist practice help me tackle online addiction?”
I want to share the tools I’ve found useful, hoping they’ll help you if you face similar issues.
When I wrote these articles, I had mostly overcome these addictions, though I still struggled with Twitter, which negatively impacted my mental state. I’m pleased to say that as I continued practicing these methods, I managed to quit Twitter too.
But first, what is social media addiction? It’s not just enjoying social media; it’s the compulsive use despite negative consequences for ourselves and others. Being compulsive means feeling out of control and struggling to stop. Thinking of quitting might cause unpleasant feelings, often leading to shame and dishonesty about our addiction levels.
I’ll use “social media” broadly to include not just sites like Facebook or Twitter, but also online games and compulsive news checking.
The Buddha didn’t talk about the internet but said much about managing compelling thoughts and behaviors. There’s one discourse, the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, that offers rich tools for this. I translate it as the “Discourse on Quieting Thinking.”
Vitakka means “thinking,” and santhana means “resting place,” “end,” “stopping,” or “cessation.” Here, “thinking” involves more than just talking to ourselves in our heads; it also includes the urges behind those thoughts. Sometimes, you act on an urge without any verbal thought, like picking up your phone and opening a social media app without inner dialogue. In Buddhist terms, that urge is a “thought.”
This discourse is fundamentally about letting go of unhelpful urges or habits.
People often think the Vitakkasanthana is about quieting urges during meditation, but it doesn’t mention meditation and can be applied in any context, even on social media. Think of it as the Social Media Sutra.
The discourse provides five tools. It suggests starting with the first one and moving to the next if the first doesn’t work.
Here’s a brief overview of the five tools:
Each tool comes with illustrations. Some are engaging, while others might be less immediately useful.
These five tools offer a powerful set of strategies to combat addictive behaviors, along with the associated anger and anxiety. I’ll go through each tool, 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. Click here to read about the first tool, Pivoting Toward the Skillful.
Notice any addictive behaviors around your social media use. What suffering does it lead to? How does your compulsion show up? Can you try giving up social media for a day or two? If not, what’s stopping you? When you do manage to abstain, how do you feel—joyful, relieved, craving, anxious?
Think of reducing social media time as a limited-time window, gradually decreasing the duration. With enough willpower, this simple approach can significantly cut down your usage.
[…] Bodhipaksa has posted a series on mindful and self-compassionate tools for overcoming social media addiction. This shows how ancient texts can tackle modern problems, keeping the Dhamma as relevant today as it was millennia ago.
I should mention a question about translating vitakka as ‘thinking.’ In Abhidhamma, vitakka refers to ‘initial application,’ not sustained thinking (vicara). But I take my guidance from the suttas and personal experience in meditation.
For example, in the Kolita Sutta, the Buddha talks about ‘noble silence’ where both vitakka and vicara cease in the second jhana, which aligns with my experience. In the Culavedalla Sutta, Dhammadinna distinguishes vitakka and vicara as verbal fabrications leading to speech.
These references support the interpretation of vitakka and vicara as forms of thought rather than attention. However, different perspectives exist based on various teachings.
All the best,
Bodhipaksa