I’m sharing a series of posts explaining how teachings from early Buddhist scriptures can help us break our addiction to social media. These teachings are found in the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, an ancient text that suggests five strategies for dealing with compelling urges.
This week, we’ll focus on the second strategy: examining the drawbacks of having an uncontrolled mind. The Vitakkasanthana Sutta recommends recognizing that certain thoughts are unskillful, blameworthy, and lead to suffering. By examining these drawbacks, these negative thoughts can eventually be abandoned.
We can apply this tool to our use of social media by recognizing its disadvantages. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are designed to be addictive, hooking into our brain’s reward circuits to keep us coming back for more. They encourage constant engagement through features like endless scrolling, autoplaying videos, and notifications that someone is composing a reply to our posts.
There is ample evidence of the negative effects of social media. A 2019 study by researchers at Michigan State University and Monash University in Australia found that heavy Facebook users have impaired decision-making skills, akin to those addicted to drugs like cocaine or heroin. Most people are addicted to some extent, with the average person spending around four hours a day on their phone.
Social media can make us anxious, depressed, and lonely. It fosters a fake sense of comparison, making us believe we’re falling behind in life. Research shows that the more we use social media, the less happy and satisfied with life we feel. Additionally, bad actors use these platforms for propaganda, influencing our political decisions without us even realizing it.
For me, the biggest drawback was the amount of time wasted on social media. I could easily spend an hour or more in the morning browsing news stories and scrolling through Twitter. This was valuable time that could be spent on more meaningful activities like walking, meditating, or working. Social media comes with an opportunity cost.
Other disadvantages include staying up too late, reducing productivity by constantly checking for updates, neglecting loved ones, getting into online conflicts, and losing the ability to focus. These are likely familiar issues for many people.
Addiction, despite its negative impact, promises happiness. This is a cognitive distortion known as vipallasa, where we mistakenly believe that impermanent and unwholesome things will make us happy. We assume that happiness comes from social media, online games, or staying updated with news. We fear missing out (FOMO) if we don’t engage in these activities.
When I considered deleting my Facebook account, I worried about losing touch with relatives and missing important events. But I found that reducing social media use actually increased my happiness and productivity. I had more time for meditation and could focus on reading without distractions, which was a huge blessing.
Cutting back on social media brought joy and freedom. Instead of FOMO, I experienced JOMO—Joy of Missing Out. This second strategy from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta helps us see our desire for social media as a false promise of happiness. We can start to view these urges with skepticism, recognizing that social media addiction makes us unhappy and distracts us from meaningful activities.
The Buddha uses a powerful image in the teachings: someone dressed in their finest clothes with a decaying corpse around their neck would be horrified and disgusted. This image reminds us to see the unwholesomeness of our addictions. However, it also emphasizes the importance of recognizing the wholesome and joyful aspects of our lives.
Just focusing on the drawbacks of social media might make us feel worse and drive us back to it for escape. So, we should also turn our attention to healthier activities like being fully present, meditating, meaningful work, and simple pleasures.
By disengaging from social media, I rediscovered the joy of reading, listening to classical music, and going for walks. These simple pleasures bring immense satisfaction and presence.
So, I suggest creating two lists: one of the drawbacks of addictive online behaviors and another of activities that bring genuine joy and peace. Whenever you feel caught up in social media cravings, recall these lists. Let yourself feel “disgust” towards the addiction but also cultivate attraction towards what genuinely enriches your life.
These reflections help us see our addictive behavior as gross and incompatible with who we want to be. They help us undermine addiction, freeing us to live happier and more mindful lives.