In late 2019, I recorded a series of talks for “Tricycle” magazine that focused on how Buddhist tools can help us overcome social media and internet addiction. The talks were released online in January of the following year, and I decided to turn my notes into a series of six articles: an introduction and one article for each of the five tools discussed.
I’ve expanded on my original talks, as you often realize things you could have mentioned once you’ve finished speaking.
I have been a social media addict myself. Because my teaching requires me to spend a lot of time online, I found myself getting sucked into social media. Like most people, I carry a device that’s essentially a glass portal to endless distractions, rarely used for making actual phone calls.
Spending so much time online led me to waste hours on the internet, negatively impacting my work and causing me to stay up too late reading interesting articles on science and psychology. Though what I read was valuable, it often deprived me of sleep. My ability to focus on books diminished, making life feel more superficial without deep, immersive reading.
Sometimes, engaging in online disputes would leave me feeling anxious and angry, with my heart pounding as I logged into my accounts. I also craved attention, becoming anxious about whether my posts had been “liked” or shared. These behaviors are forms of suffering.
Naturally, I began to wonder, “How can my Buddhist practice help with this addiction?” That’s what I’ll be sharing—useful tools I discovered that might help you if you struggle with similar issues.
By the time I finished writing these articles, I had mostly overcome my addictions, though I still struggled with spending too much time on Twitter, which affected my mental state. Fortunately, continuing to practice the techniques I discuss here helped me eventually disengage from Twitter as well.
So, what do I mean by social media addiction? It’s not just enjoying social media; it’s the compulsive use of it despite harmful consequences. Compulsion makes us feel out of control, and the thought of quitting may cause strong negative feelings. This often leads to shame, and we might be dishonest about how addicted we are.
When I refer to “social media,” I mean it broadly, including social media sites, online games, and compulsively checking the news.
The Buddha didn’t talk about the internet or social media, but he did discuss overcoming compulsive patterns of thought and behavior. One discourse, in particular, the Vitakkasanthana Sutta (or “Discourse on Quieting Thinking”), offers a wealth of tools. In this context, “thinking” includes urges that drive our actions, like picking up our phones without a conscious thought. These urges are considered “thoughts” in Buddhist terms.
Essentially, the Vitakkasanthana Sutta is about letting go of unhelpful urges or habits. Many interpret this discourse as pertaining to meditation, but it can apply to any part of our lives, including social media use. You might even call it the Social Media Sutra.
The discourse offers five tools, suggesting you start with the first and move on if it doesn’t work.
Here is an overview of the five tools:
1. Pivoting Toward the Skillful
2. Techniques Upturning
3. Transformation Practices
4. Reality Reflection
5. Absorption Focus
Each tool comes with an illustration, some more engaging than others, providing us with an impressive collection of techniques to overcome addictive behaviors and associated emotions like anger and anxiety.
I’ll go through each of these tools, explaining what the Buddha said and how to practically apply them. That’s it for today. I hope you enjoy this series.
As you read these posts, notice any addictive patterns in your social media use. What suffering does it cause for you? Can you experiment with giving up social media, even for a day or two? What prevents you from doing so? How do you feel if you take a break from social media—joy, relief, craving, anxiety?
Consider this a limited time experiment, gradually reducing your social media usage. Applying these simple strategies, even though they require willpower, can definitely help reduce social media consumption.