In a series of six posts, I’ll be explaining how teachings from early Buddhist scriptures can help us free ourselves from social media addiction. These teachings come from the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, which outlines five strategies to overcome compelling thoughts and urges. We’ll tackle each tool in sequence: first, redirect the mind to something positive. If that doesn’t work, see the drawbacks of addiction. If that also fails, the next step is to “ignore and forget” whatever we’re obsessed with, which is today’s focus.
The guidance on this tool is straightforward: if bad thoughts connected to desire, hate, and delusion keep coming up, we should ignore and forget them. While it may sound easier said than done, it’s practical advice centered on reducing temptation.
We’ll explore this concept in two areas. First, we’ll look at external activities, specifically how we can change our habits regarding social media. Then, we’ll delve into internal activities and how a small change in attention can transform our well-being.
For practical advice on managing your attention, let’s consider an example: if you’re trying to lose weight but have a problem with eating potato chips, it’s best not to have them in the house, and avoid the chip aisle at the market. Similarly, with online addictions, our “magic glass rectangles” (phones) enable our social media use, so we should make accessing these apps less convenient. Move social media apps to a different screen and turn off notifications to avoid interruptions.
Keeping your phone out of sight can also help. For instance, avoid charging your phone by your bedside; charge it in another room to prevent overnight and early-morning checks. If you need an alarm clock, use a traditional one instead of your phone.
Turning off your phone overnight can also help as the effort needed to boot it up can act as a barrier to impulsive use. When I charge my phone in the living room, I’m more likely to meditate or read something beneficial first thing in the morning, rather than jumping online.
Creating phone-free times during meals or social gatherings can also encourage more direct interaction. Some even pile phones at the table during meals and penalize the first person to reach for their phone. Meditation retreats, where you can leave your phone behind or at least make it harder to access, also offer great opportunities to disconnect.
These are all practical ways to “look away” from our phones, as suggested by the Vitakkasanthana Sutta. But there’s also an internal approach to avoiding obsessive thoughts. Changing the way we use our eyes can make a big difference. For example, we can switch from a narrow, focused “flashlight” attention to a broad, relaxed “lamp” attention. This helps keep us from becoming absorbed in individual thoughts and urges.
By maintaining a relaxed, open gaze, we can allow thoughts and urges to arise and pass without getting drawn into them. This helps when dealing with urges to check social media, allowing us to let them pass without acting on them. This method is akin to “urge surfing,” where we observe urges rise and fall without succumbing to them.
Today, we learned practical steps to manage social media addiction by creating addiction-free environments and using a broader, more relaxed focus to manage our internal state. These strategies help us ignore and forget the thoughts and impulses that keep us hooked on social media, ultimately leading to a freer, more controlled life.