In a series of posts, I’ll explain how teachings from early Buddhist scriptures can help free us from social media addiction. These teachings are found in the ancient Vitakkasanthana Sutta, which outlines five strategies for managing our compelling urges. This week, we’ll focus on the second strategy, which is understanding the negative aspects of having an unrestrained mind.
The application of this to social media is quite clear. We need to recognize the disadvantages of social media and our addiction to it. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are designed to be addictive, tapping into our brain’s reward circuits to keep us coming back for more. They lure us in with endless streams, autoplaying videos, and constant notifications, ensuring we remain engaged to check for likes, shares, or comments.
There is ample evidence of the negative impact social media has on us. Heavy social media use can impair decision-making skills, similar to the effects seen in drug addiction. A 2019 study found that heavy Facebook users performed as poorly in psychological tests as people addicted to drugs like cocaine or heroin. The average person now spends about four hours a day on their phone, which underscores how pervasive this issue has become.
Social media usage has been linked to increased anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness. It often tricks us into comparing ourselves to others, who usually present an overly positive picture of their lives. Research has shown that the more time we spend on social media, the lower our sense of happiness and life satisfaction.
Moreover, social media has been weaponized for political manipulation. Bad actors use these platforms to spread propaganda and influence our decisions, often without us realizing it. For example, Facebook discovered that a Russian internet agency had used a page on mindfulness to meddle in US elections.
Personally, I found the biggest drawback of social media was the amount of time I wasted on it. I could easily spend over an hour in the morning browsing news stories and Twitter, which was time that could have been better spent on activities like walking, meditating, or working. Social media comes with a significant opportunity cost.
Other disadvantages are numerous: staying up too late staring at screens, reduced productivity due to constant interruption, neglecting loved ones, engaging in online conflicts, and decreased focus. These problems likely sound familiar to you.
An addiction, by nature, tends to promise happiness while actually causing harm. Buddha’s teachings refer to this as vipallasa, or cognitive distortion. This distortion includes seeing impermanent things as permanent and viewing harmful things as beneficial. In terms of social media, we often mistakenly believe it will make us happy and fulfill us, while fearing that avoiding it will cause us to miss out.
One common term for this fear is FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Initially, I was worried that quitting Facebook would disconnect me from friends and family or that I’d miss important news. However, I found the opposite to be true. The less I used social media, the happier and more productive I became. I had more time for meditation, reading, and truly engaging with life. Instead of experiencing FOMO, I found JOMO—Joy of Missing Out.
So, the second tool from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, examining the drawbacks of social media, helps us question our urge to stay hooked on it. This allows us to see social media more critically and to recognize that it often makes us unhappy.
Buddha uses a vivid image to illustrate this: Imagine someone adorned in their finest clothes with a corpse draped around their neck—they’d be horrified. This image emphasizes how our addictions, like social media, are gross and unwholesome. It’s important to recognize the positive and wholesome parts of our lives that get overshadowed by these negative influences.
Simply focusing on the drawbacks of social media might make us feel bad and potentially lead us to spend even more time online to escape our feelings. Therefore, while reflecting on these drawbacks, we should also focus on more wholesome and nourishing activities that make us truly happy, such as being present, meditating, meaningful work, and simple life pleasures.
For me, stepping back from social media led me to rediscover the joys of reading, listening to classical music, and walking. These simple pleasures bring a sense of presence and contentment that social media never could.
I suggest you make two lists: one with the drawbacks of your addictive behaviors and another with wholesome activities that bring you joy. When you find yourself drawn to social media, recall these lists. Develop a sense of “disgust” for the addictive behaviors and an attraction to the nourishing activities.
In summary, these reflections help us see our addictive behavior as something gross. They give us a clearer sense of who we are and how we want to live. They help us recognize and undermine our addictive tendencies, making us freer, happier, and more in control of our minds.
Consider taking steps like logging off, moving social media icons to less accessible screens, adding healthier alternatives into your routine, and scheduling social media-free days to review their effects on your life. These practices can help you break free from the grip of social media and lead a more fulfilling life.