In a series of posts, I describe using teachings from early Buddhist scriptures to help free ourselves from social media addiction. The teachings come from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, an ancient text that outlines five strategies for overcoming powerful urges. This week, we’ll look at the second strategy, which involves examining the drawbacks of having an out-of-control mind.
This particular teaching uses a very vivid and graphic image to make its point. It suggests that when we recognize our thoughts as unskillful, blameworthy, and resulting in suffering, we can let them go. Imagine a young person, fond of adornments, being horrified if a corpse of an animal were hung around their neck. This image helps us understand the unwholesome nature of our negative habits.
Applying this to social media, we need to recognize its disadvantages and how our addiction to it affects us. Social media platforms are designed to be addictive, hooking into our brain’s reward circuits and making us keep coming back for more. They show endless feeds, autoplay videos, and display notifications to keep us engaged.
Studies have shown the negative impact of heavy social media use. For example, a 2019 study by researchers at Michigan State University and Monash University found that heavy Facebook users had impaired decision-making skills similar to those addicted to cocaine or heroin. On average, people spend four hours a day on their phones, leading to anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
Social media often makes us feel inadequate by presenting others’ lives as much better than they really are. The more time we spend on social media, the less happy and satisfied we become. Bad actors use these platforms for social engineering, turning them into propaganda tools that influence our political decisions without us even realizing it.
For me, the main drawback was the amount of time I wasted on social media. I could easily spend over an hour every morning reading news and browsing Twitter instead of using that time productively. Social media has a high opportunity cost.
There are other disadvantages too: staying up late looking at screens, reduced productivity due to constant interruptions, ignoring loved ones, getting into online conflicts, and losing our ability to focus. These issues are familiar to many of us.
The key issue with addiction is that it promises happiness but causes unhappiness. This notion is included in the Buddha’s teachings on cognitive distortions, where we mistakenly view impermanent things as lasting, unattractive things as attractive, and things outside ourselves as intrinsic to us.
We often fall into the trap of thinking that social media and other online activities will bring us happiness, fearing we’ll miss out if we don’t engage. This fear, known as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), can make us anxious about losing contact with others or missing news. However, reducing social media use often leads to increased contentment, better mental health, and higher productivity.
Using the second tool from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, we can begin to undermine our social media addiction by critically examining its drawbacks. This helps us view our desires skeptically and understand that these urges often present false promises of happiness.
To use the Buddha’s powerful imagery, imagine having something disgusting like a corpse draped around your neck while you’re otherwise well-dressed. This encourages us to see our addictions as similarly unattractive and to recognize the wholesome aspects of our lives that we should focus on instead.
Balancing our reflection on social media’s drawbacks with positive activities is essential. We should focus on being present, meditating, working meaningfully, and enjoying simple pleasures. As we disengage from social media, we may rediscover the joys of reading, listening to music, and walking.
I suggest creating two lists: one of social media’s disadvantages and another of activities that bring you genuine joy. When you feel the pull of social media, recall these lists. This approach helps create a sense of “disgust” for addictive behavior while fostering an attraction to wholesome activities.
By reflecting on these points, we can start to see our addictive behaviors as misaligned with who we want to be. This awareness helps us break free from addiction, making us happier and more in control of our minds.