Social media Addiction for devotees affecting devotion & Recovery!
A Girl devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Dandavat Pranam prabhu. I have been in touch with iskcon for so many years through my parents. But since a few years, by getting attracted towards philosophy, i have started to practise bhakti and try to progress in it. I find it difficult to chant (So literally speaking not all chanting), I find interest in reading books, hearing lectures. But as for now, I have become more addicted to you tube by watching random videos for so many hours a day(about 6 to 7 hours a day). First I was addicted to instagram, then I decided to delete it. so now i deleted insta and FB. But as for now, I got addicted to you tube, I got a basic phone to reduce smartphone usage (to avoid watching you tube). As I need a smartphone for some temple service like whatsapp, I can’t be able to avoid it. Please do give me some practical and spiritual tips to stop using You tube from watching material stuff and try to progress in bhakti. Thank You.”
REPLY:
This Social media Addiction is existing among many devotees. Let me give some tips for Coming out of Social media Addiction for devotees!
Not only the Social media Addiction. Any addiction is unfavourable to the devotional practices.
Social media or video addictions are also similar to the addictions due to cigarettes, liquor, etc.
(Is Playing Cards by the devotees without Pledging money allowed? READ HERE!)
Even addiction to our relatives and friends cause barriers in devotion.
‘Addiction’ is an advanced stage of ‘attachment’.
That is why, we are advised to be kind and duty bound with our relatives and friends, but not attached/addicted to them.
Attachment is the starting stage of addiction that is the advanced stage.
According to the psychiatrists, if one uses internet for more than two hours a day for entertainment, he is an addict to internet and he needs counselling and some small treatment.
Attachment is the outcome of having a taste in something.
It is always better not even to start any unwanted habit.
As far as social media addiction or Video sites addiction are concerned, unless you earn from those media, just 30 minutes to maximum of 2 hrs a day is the limit (if you do any small services thru internet).
(Using intoxicants or other Violations while chanting – Will Krishna accept? READ HERE!)
If you are earning or serving thru those sites, it becomes your profession. So, you can take sufficient time to perform the tasks. But, you should take a 15 minutes break every two hours if you have compelling reasons to work on internet for earning. For personal or spiritual activities, 2 hours a day is optimum.
In your case, more than 6 hrs a day for entertainment alone is too much and not good for mental and physical health.
If you are just a navigator and viewer of video sites, unless you yourself withdraw from them within 30 minutes, it will consume your whole day.
Their marketing technique is to show ‘related’ list of videos and even non related videos. It will continue to show the flow of links endlessly and you can’t leave that Video site at all.
In this endless race, you may be taken to wrong links also.
So, you end up getting addicted to those video sites.
So, unless you have clear choice of which video to view, you can’t withdraw from those sites.
I usually mute the statuses of those who are making unwanted posts so that they won’t be shown to me in Whatsapp. If anyone is continuously sending videos, I mute their chat notifications in Whatsapp and hence I may have no need to see them. In due course of time, they may stop sending bunch of messages.
Because, attending so many messages and viewing the videos sent by the contacts will never allow us to do productive duties.
(How to develop Social skills for the devotee children who are not social? READ HERE!)
In this digitized world, everyone is bombarded with hundreds of messages and videos everyday. If we see all of them, we may be over-informed and hence we may end up in missing our essential schedules.
Everyone should know his priorities in life. He should focus only in the activities that elevates him in spirituality and his career & life management.
The persons who have the habit of sending frequent messages to others should understand that the recipient may see it a disturbance. It may affect their reputation. So, it is a good practice to avoid helping or sending messages unless they are asked.
Your addiction to videos shows that you are giving more importance for entertainment than for Krishna.
Your taste for chanting is less than that for videos.
You are wasting every day with the unproductive things that are not at all going to do any good to you.
Entertainment should be like the Side dish in our menu. The main dish should be devotion, career and life management.
You are taking more side dish and less main dish that may lead to ulcer soon, ie, it will harm your life with no growth.
I always advise all to work for two hours and then take some entertainment or leisure activity strictly for 15 minutes and again resume work.
You should learn to withdraw or close the phone within 15 minutes. Instead, you can read about Krishna in leisure time during the work.
See, you have lost your taste in chanting as you show more taste in watching the videos.
Don’t be an unproductive person. Don’t waste this rare human life. Make yourself busy without having time to watch these unproductive things.
(Is being a Good devotee and Good son simultaneously attachment? READ HERE!)
When the cars cost more than 50 times of everyone’s monthly earnings, there were less congestion on roads. Since the prices of the cars came down even equal to one’s 5-6 months of earning, many people buy cars and hence the roads are congested.
Similarly, when one GB of data was Rs 300 (In India), we used the data in a very calculative way and we feared to go to video sites. But, since one GB costs just Rs.4 or 5 now, everyone can watch plenty of videos for just Rs.250-300 per month.
Just because something is freely or cheaply available, we need not use them. Even poison is cheaply available, even freely available in the form of plants. Will we use them?
Using video sites or social media excessively is also like taking slow poison by subscribing for a low charges every month.
Internet world is an ocean. If you use that for earning and serving, you are a brilliant person. If you use it for leisure beyond a limit, you are a victim of marketing techniques of site promoters and also you are taking slow poison that is ruining your rare human life.
If you like to read and view all videos in the internet, you may have to take 1000 more births. So, it is an endless slow poison. You can never get satisfied even after 1000 births.
Understand the seriousness in making this human life meaningful and successful. Do not remain addicted to the media. Be wise and use any media or source productively for your elevation.
Feel the importance of getting Krishna in this birth to avoid painful life in further births. Develop a taste in Krishna and chanting. Make this life productive.
Hope you are clear now with these tips for Coming out of Social media Addiction for devotees!
(Is it material attachment if devotees promote their faces in internet? READ HERE!)