In a series of posts, I delve into teachings from early Buddhist scriptures to explain how we can break our addiction to social media. These teachings come from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, which outlines five strategies for handling persistent and compelling thoughts and urges.
The term “Vitakkasanthana Sutta” means “the Discourse on Quieting Thinking,” but I prefer calling it “the Social Media Sutra” for simplicity and relevance to modern life.
Let’s focus on the fifth and final tool: sheer willpower. According to the Buddha, when other methods fail, we should rely on brute force. By clenching our teeth and using our determination, we can push away unwanted thoughts.
While this method sounds aggressive, it’s clear that willpower is a last resort. Personally, I find it useful sometimes. For instance, if I’m surfing the internet late at night and realize it’s costing me sleep, I might feel a wave of disgust and slam my laptop shut. This sudden distaste helps me overcome my craving.
However, willpower alone isn’t always the best solution. A more effective approach is to use your willpower when you’re not actively caught up in cravings. For example, deleting social media apps from your phone makes it harder to access them. You can even use parental controls to block certain sites or install browser plugins to limit your usage.
For those really committed, deleting social media accounts can be quite effective. Personally, I deleted my Instagram and Facebook accounts because they weren’t adding value to my life and were affecting my well-being. Research shows that quitting social media makes people happier, but addiction makes it hard to quit, convincing us that we need these platforms for happiness, which isn’t true.
I eventually kept only my Twitter account, but even that became problematic due to its time-consuming and often negative content. To finally quit Twitter, I used a trick: I changed my password to something random and then logged out, effectively locking myself out of my account. This method created a barrier that kept me away from the platform without deleting my account.
To sum up, we’ve explored five tools from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta to help free our minds from obsessive thoughts and urges. Using these strategies, especially in the context of social media, can help us lead more mindful, compassionate, and joyful lives. Thank you for joining me in this series, and may we all continue to make progress in overcoming the obstacles that hinder our well-being.