I’ve been explaining how we can break free from our addiction to social media using teachings from early Buddhist scriptures. These teachings come from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, which offers five strategies to overcome these compelling urges. I’ve been calling it “the Social Media Sutra.”
“Vitakkasanthana Sutta” translates to “The Discourse on Quieting Thinking,” which refers not just to our inner dialogue but also to the emotional urges that come with it. So, the urge to constantly check social media or browse the internet is a form of “thinking.”
The first strategy is to turn our attention towards something skillful. The second strategy involves understanding the drawbacks of our unskillful activities. The third strategy is about reducing temptation.
Now, let’s discuss the fourth tool from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta and how it can help with social media addiction. This fourth tool is called “stopping the formation of thoughts.” It sounds ideal if you can manage it—an off-switch for our thinking or at least a dial to turn it down.
So, what does this mean in practice? The discourse says if other methods haven’t quieted our unskillful thoughts and urges, and negative thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion keep coming up, we should focus on stopping the formation of those thoughts. By doing so, the negative thoughts can end, leading to a calm and unified mind focused on mindful absorption.
Let’s break this down through an example. Imagine you’re walking quickly and decide to slow down, then stop, sit, and eventually lie down. The idea is to move towards more relaxed states gradually. Similarly, when we compulsively engage in online activities, recognizing what drives this behavior helps us slow down and rest.
If we’re aimlessly surfing the web, it might be driven by a feeling of anxiety, often felt as an unpleasant sensation in the gut. Part of our brain senses a threat in boredom or missing out and signals this through discomfort. Reactionary parts of our brain then drive us to keep clicking, supported by thoughts like, “Just one more article.”
Feelings play a central role in Buddhist practice. The Buddha emphasized that everything converges on feeling due to its pivotal role in our experiences. In this case, unpleasant feelings drive our behavior. By becoming mindful of these feelings, we realize we don’t have to react to them. Instead, we can observe these feelings, understand they represent a part of us that is suffering, and offer ourselves compassion.
This mindful self-compassion creates a pause, allowing us to act more wisely and kindly. For internet addiction, there’s always an unpleasant feeling driving us, such as boredom, dread, or anxiety. We can train ourselves to turn toward this discomfort with kindness and compassion. This shift helps us move from reactivity to a more mindful response.
When I find myself compulsively reading online, I use this mindful approach. I recognize my suffering, turn attention to my feelings, and notice the unpleasant sensation in my gut. When unmindful, I see these feelings as signals of something wrong, needing a quick fix. But mindfully, I observe the sensation as just that—a bodily sensation created by a part of my brain perceiving a threat.
With mindfulness, I don’t need to act on this sensation. I can observe and offer kindness to the part of me that is suffering. Simple acts like touching my belly and saying, “May you be well. May you be happy. May you be at peace,” can help.
Social media addiction is driven by the desire to escape emotional pain. To break free, we must turn our attention to this pain with mindfulness and compassion. When we mindfully address our painful feelings, it’s as if the emotional connection to social media weakens or breaks, allowing us to choose more wholesome activities.
That’s the essence of the fourth tool: stopping the formation of unskillful urges by recognizing and responding to the underlying feelings in a healthier way, helping us break free from our social media compulsion.