In this series of six posts, I’ve been discussing how teachings from early Buddhist scriptures can help us overcome our addiction to social media. These teachings come from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, which presents five strategies for managing compelling urges. I’ve termed it “the Social Media Sutra.”
The term “Vitakkasanthana Sutta” translates to “The Discourse on Quieting Thinking,” referring to not just internal dialogue but also the emotional urges that accompany it. In this context, the urge to compulsively use social media is a form of thinking.
The first strategy is redirecting our attention to something positive. The second involves recognizing the drawbacks of our unproductive activities, and the third is about learning to reduce temptation. Now, we’ll explore the fourth tool provided by the Vitakkasanthana Sutta to tackle social media addiction.
This fourth method is called “stopping the formation of thoughts.” It implies finding a way to switch off or dial down our thinking. The discourse suggests that when other methods fail to quiet our unproductive thoughts and urges connected to desire, hate, and delusion, we should focus on stopping the formation of thoughts. This process helps the mind become calm, unified, and immersed in mindful absorption.
To better understand this, consider an example from the discourse: Imagine someone walking quickly who decides to slow down, then to stand still, then to sit, and finally to lie down. This person successively adopts more relaxed postures. The key is recognizing the mechanisms driving our actions and learning to let go, allowing ourselves to slow down and rest.
Similarly, our compulsive online behavior is driven by underlying mechanisms, often involving unpleasant feelings like anxiety. This anxiety might manifest as physical sensations in the body, signaling a perceived threat to our well-being. Our brain reacts to these unpleasant sensations by prompting us to keep surfing the web.
By becoming mindful of these driving feelings, we can choose not to react to them. Instead, we observe them with compassion, recognizing that they represent a part of us that is suffering. This compassionate mindfulness creates a pause, enabling us to act more wisely.
For internet addiction, the driving force is always an unpleasant feeling, which may vary from boredom to anxiety. Learning to face and accept this discomfort with kindness helps us shift from a reactive to a more mindful response.
When I find myself mindlessly reading articles online, I practice what I’ve described. I notice my suffering and turn my attention to the present feelings, usually an unpleasant sensation in the gut. Without mindfulness, these sensations signal that something is wrong, prompting me to seek a quick fix online. But when I’m mindful, I see these feelings as just bodily sensations produced by a part of my brain. I don’t need to act on them; instead, I can observe them compassionately, offering kindness to the suffering part.
Social media and internet addiction often stem from a desire to escape emotional pain. We can’t free ourselves from these urges until we learn to face our pain with mindfulness and compassion.
When we crave something, it’s as if there’s an emotional cord connecting us to it. Mindfully addressing the painful feelings underlying our cravings can cut this cord, weakening our attachment. As a result, we can put down our devices and opt for more wholesome activities instead of mindlessly scrolling.
This fourth tool focuses on stopping the formation of unproductive urges by identifying and compassionately responding to the feelings driving them. This helps us break free from the compulsion to engage with social media.
To read the next part of The Social Media Sutra, continue to Part 5: Staging a Coup Against Social Media Addiction.