In late 2019, I recorded a series of talks for “Tricycle” magazine, discussing how Buddhist tools can help us overcome social media and internet addiction. These talks went online in January the following year. Meanwhile, I decided to turn my notes into a series of articles, resulting in six pieces: an introduction and one for each of the five tools.
I’ve expanded on what I said during those talks because, naturally, you always think of more to say afterward. Here are links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
I admit, I’ve been a social media addict myself. Teaching mostly online means a lot of time spent on the internet, which led me to get sucked into social media. Like most people, I carry a device we call a “phone,” but it’s more of a portal to endless distractions than anything else.
Spending extensive time online, often more than necessary, had a negative impact on my work and sleep. I’d stay up late reading interesting articles about science and psychology. This constant reading, while enriching, left me sleep-deprived. Although I’ve always loved books, my focus shifted, and I struggled to immerse myself in reading them. Without that deep engagement, life felt more superficial.
Additionally, I sometimes got involved in online disputes, causing anger and anxiety. I’d anxiously log in to check if my posts were liked or shared, which led to more suffering. Not fond of suffering, I asked myself, “How can my Buddhist practice help with online addiction?”
I’m going to share some tools that have been helpful to me, hoping they might help you too. By the time I wrote these articles, I had mostly overcome my addictions, though I sometimes struggled with Twitter. Thankfully, continuing these practices eventually helped me disengage from Twitter as well.
When I refer to social media addiction, I’m talking about the compulsive use of social media despite its harmful effects on us and others. This compulsion makes it difficult to stop, leading to unpleasant feelings and sometimes shame. Often, we aren’t honest about our level of addiction.
By “social media,” I mean more than just sites like Facebook or Twitter; it includes online games or compulsively checking the news. The Buddha never spoke about the internet, but he did talk about managing compulsive thoughts and behaviors. One discourse, the Vitakkasanthana Sutta or the “Discourse on Quieting Thinking,” is particularly insightful.
In this context, “thinking” includes urges that drive us to act, such as instinctively picking up the phone to check social media without any internal dialogue. The discourse is fundamentally about letting go of these unhelpful urges or habits.
Most people think the Vitakkasanthana Sutta is about calming urges during meditation, but it doesn’t mention meditation specifically. Its principles apply to any context, including social media use. It’s almost like a Social Media Sutra.
The discourse offers five tools to tackle these urges. You start with the first, and if it doesn’t work, you move on to the next, and so forth. Each tool is illustrated with examples, some more helpful than others.
These tools offer a robust set of strategies for overcoming addictive behaviors and the associated emotions like anger and anxiety. I’ll go through each tool from the Buddha’s teachings, making them practical for you.
That’s it for now. I hope you enjoy this series of blog posts.
Notice any addictive behaviors around your social media use. What suffering does it lead to? How does your compulsion manifest? Can you experiment with giving up social media, even for a day or two? If that’s hard, observe what’s stopping you. How do you feel when you do manage to give it up for a short period? Do you feel joy, relief, craving, or anxiety?
Consider using a limited window of time to gradually reduce your social media usage. It requires willpower, but this simple strategy can significantly cut down your time on social media.