In a series of posts, I discuss how teachings from early Buddhist scriptures can help us break free from social media addiction. These teachings, found in the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, highlight five strategies for overcoming our compelling urges. This week, let’s focus on the second strategy: examining the drawbacks of having an out-of-control mind.
The Buddha’s teachings suggest that we should recognize the disadvantages of unskillful thoughts, comparing them to a scenario where a young person has a snake, dog, or human corpse hung around their neck. They’d be horrified and disgusted, and we should feel the same way about our addictive thoughts.
Applying this to social media, it’s clear we need to recognize its disadvantages. Social platforms like Facebook and Twitter are engineered to exploit our brain’s reward circuits, making them highly addictive. They lure us back by creating endless streams, autoplaying videos, and notifying us of interactions, all designed to keep us hooked.
There’s substantial evidence highlighting the negative effects of social media. A study from Michigan State University and Monash University found that heavy Facebook users have impaired decision-making abilities, comparable to those addicted to cocaine or heroin. On average, people spend four hours a day on their phones, which can lead to anxiety, depression, and a false sense of inadequacy.
Social media can make us feel lonely, anxious, and less satisfied with life. It shows us a skewed reality where others appear more successful, leading to comparison and dissatisfaction. Additionally, bad actors use social media to manipulate political views, often without our awareness.
Personally, I’ve found that social media can waste a significant amount of time. I used to spend hours in the morning on my phone instead of engaging in more meaningful activities like walking or meditating. Social media also affects our productivity, sleep, and relationships, as we get absorbed in our screens and neglect those around us.
Addiction often tricks us into believing it will make us happy. This “cognitive distortion” is addressed in the Buddha’s teachings, where we mistakenly see social media and other online activities as sources of happiness, fearing deprivation if we disconnect.
This fear is known as FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out. Initially, I worried that quitting social media would mean losing touch with friends and missing important updates. However, I found that reducing my social media use increased my contentment, productivity, and focus on more fulfilling activities like reading, meditating, and enjoying music.
Learning to recognize the unwholesomeness of our social media addiction is akin to seeing it as a gross, repellent corpse around our necks. To truly combat this addiction, we must also acknowledge and value the positive, healthy activities in our lives, such as being present, meditating, and engaging in meaningful work.
By balancing our awareness of social media’s drawbacks with an appreciation for wholesome activities, we can overcome our addiction. This approach helps us see our addictive behaviors as something that doesn’t align with our true selves, leading to greater freedom and happiness.
In essence, these reflections help us understand our addiction and steer us towards a more fulfilling and controlled life.