In a series of posts, I explain how we can break free from our addiction to social media by using teachings from the early Buddhist scriptures, specifically the Vitakkasanthana Sutta. This ancient text outlines five strategies to overcome our compelling urges.
This week, we’re focusing on the second strategy, which involves examining the negative consequences of having an out-of-control mind. One vivid and memorable image used in this context is:
“They should examine the drawbacks of those thoughts: ‘So these thoughts are unskillful, they’re blameworthy, and they result in suffering.’ As they do so, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end. Suppose there was a woman or man who was young, youthful, and fond of adornments. If the corpse of a snake or a dog or a human were hung around their neck, they’d be horrified, repelled, and disgusted.”
It’s a striking image that helps us see the drawbacks of social media and our addiction to it. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are designed to hijack our attention and are engineered to be addictive. They hook into our brain’s reward circuits, making us crave notifications and endless streams of content. Features like autoplaying videos and notifications of someone typing a reply are designed to keep us engaged.
There is plenty of evidence showing the harmful effects of social media. It’s not just about a few extreme cases; nearly everyone is affected to some extent. A 2019 study by researchers at Michigan State University and Monash University found that heavy Facebook users have impaired decision-making skills similar to those seen in people addicted to drugs like cocaine or heroin. On average, people spend about four hours a day on their phones.
Social media usage is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and loneliness. It makes us compare ourselves unfairly to others, who often portray their lives in an unrealistically positive light. The more time we spend on social media, the less happy and less satisfied with life we tend to be.
Moreover, social media is often used for social engineering and propaganda, influencing our political decisions without us even realizing it. For instance, Facebook found that a Russian agency had created a mindfulness page as part of an effort to influence U.S. elections.
Personally, I wasted a lot of time on social media. Without realizing it, I could spend hours scrolling through news and tweets, time that could be better spent walking, meditating, or working. Social media has an opportunity cost that we rarely consider.
Other negative effects include staying up too late, reduced productivity, neglecting loved ones, getting into online conflicts, and an overall inability to focus. If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because these are common issues many of us face.
Despite these negative impacts, social media seems to offer happiness, creating a cognitive distortion—a term from the Buddha’s teachings known as vipallasa. These distortions make us believe that temporary pleasures will last, unattractive things are attractive, and things outside of ourselves are part of our identity. We falsely assume that happiness comes from engaging in social media and other online activities, fearing we’ll miss out if we don’t.
This is often referred to as FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out. When I considered deleting my Facebook account, I worried about losing touch with distant relatives, missing important events in friends’ lives, and not keeping up with breaking news. However, reducing my social media use actually made me happier and more productive. I spent more time meditating and could focus better on reading books and enjoying other activities.
Cutting back on social media was liberating and brought me more contentment. Instead of experiencing FOMO, I began to feel JOMO—the Joy of Missing Out. This second tool from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta helps us see our social media addiction more clearly and recognize its false promises. We can begin to understand that constantly checking our accounts doesn’t bring real happiness or meaning. In fact, it often makes us unhappy and distracts us from truly meaningful activities.
The Buddha’s image of the corpse hanging around a person’s neck is powerful. It shows us how unwholesome and disgusting our addictions can be when we view them clearly. Recognizing this allows us to cultivate a sense of revulsion towards our addictive behaviors while simultaneously fostering an appreciation for the more wholesome activities in our lives.
If we only focus on the drawbacks of social media, we might feel bad about ourselves and end up spending even more time online to escape those feelings. Therefore, it’s crucial to also engage in wholesome activities like being present, meditating, focusing on meaningful work, and enjoying simple pleasures.
Rediscovering activities such as reading books, listening to classical music, and taking walks can bring joy and presence back into our lives. I encourage you to make two lists: one of the negative impacts of social media and one of the positive, wholesome activities you enjoy. Then, recall these lists when you find yourself engaging in addictive online behaviors.
By creating a sense of disgust towards our addictive behavior and balancing it with an attraction to wholesome activities, we can break free from our social media habits. These reflections help us see our addictive behavior more clearly, understand how we want to live our lives, and become happier and more in control of our minds.