The Harm of Mobile Phone Addiction

(Minghui.org) Years ago I saw an image on a webpage about the harm of browsing the Internet. It’s something I’ve never forgotten: an evil-looking ghost was crawling out of the computer screen, with its claws stretching out to the person looking at the screen. But in the image, the person who was browsing the Internet was completely unaware of the ghastly apparition in front of him and continued browsing the web with keen interest.

I understood at the time that, if the Internet was not put to good use, it would become a monster that harms people. So, over the years, I used the Internet with caution and never browsed everyday people’s websites, including short videos that have become so popular everywhere around the world. My friends had a hard time believing I didn’t do that because most young people play with their mobile phones. But I maintained my principles, and thought, “What’s popular is not necessarily good.”

The Lure of the Internet

The “Hu Xinyu” case in 2023 re-focused attention on the forced organ harvesting in China. I thought it would help me to better clarify the truth, so I went online to search for more information. But I couldn’t control myself after that and started reading comments about the case on social media, whether they were true or not. I felt like I'd joined the entire world in looking for the missing school boy, and I wasn’t able to focus on other things.

Then I started to watch all kinds of short videos on my phone—it was as if I’d opened a Pandora’s Box. Seeing modern luxuries and things people posted about their happy lives, I felt both envious and jealous, and my usual calm mind was seething with inner turmoil. All kinds of temptations, desires, and schemes were coming at me, and I couldn’t resist them even though I knew I shouldn’t watch them. I sometimes watched until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., even when I used the toilet. I felt drowsy the next day, but as soon as I started watching the short videos on my phone, I felt as though I'd taken a drug and was excited again.

Over time, I became exhausted both mentally and physically. Think about it. Is there any difference between people today lying on a sofa playing with their smartphones and those in the Qing Dynasty lying on a couch smoking opium?

Opium, though also very harmful, was something tangible. Viceroy of Huguang Lin Zexu in the late Qing dynasty halted the opium trade and had large quantities of it destroyed.

Technology is today’s opium, and it is far more terrifying. Many young people are dying suddenly due to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which may be due to their unhealthy lifestyles, not least of which is looking at their mobile phones day and night. In short, alien science and technology aim to seduce, control, and destroy people, and human beings are unwittingly accepting it and going along with it.

Good music makes people feel good. It relaxes them and even has therapeutic benefits, while listening regularly to vulgar and discordant music can lead to health problems. The medical profession has confirmed that connection. Unfortunately, most short videos in China are accompanied by offensive, grating music.

Of course, there are videos that teach people to be kind, but most people can’t tell them apart. Some videos pander to people’s limited and biased understandings, while others intentionally instill hatred and prejudice into people’s minds, spouting lies that people accept as truth.

Hidden Danger

Take the school-aged kids in today’s China for example. They use Internet slang as soon as they open their mouths. Such words and expressions have no place in our traditional, divinely-bestowed Chinese culture. It’s terrible to imagine what will become of humanity if things continue to develop this way.

A key factor in addicting us to mobile phones is how big data uses algorithms to analyze your preferences based on how long you stay on specific videos and then keeps sending you similar content so that you are always anticipating more, making you crave more, so that you’re always under their control.

As time passes, you become overwhelmed with images and information about all kinds of things: entertainment, travel, food, pornography, supernatural entities, prophecies, different religions, and so on. This information is poured into your brain as you watch them. Ordinary people aren’t aware that this is a problem, but as Dafa cultivators, we must realize that this is an attachment to be let go of.

Master reminded us as early as 1998:

The road humankind is traveling down is dreadful. Computers were [meant] to one day command people—that’s the direction as development continues. Humans were to become the slaves of computers and machinery, and eventually to be replaced by aliens. Why have computers developed so quickly, and why has the human brain suddenly become so “sharp”? All of this has been carried out by aliens controlling the human mind. Aliens have registered everyone who knows how to operate a computer. For real. As to our students, I have cleaned all of that up for them so that they won’t be interfered with by aliens when they use computers. (Teachings at the Conference in Europe)

Master’s warning is coming true. Mobile phones are small computers. On the surface, people are “using” their phones, while in reality, their phones are controlling them.

I once had a nightmare. A ferocious black bear was chasing me home, so I locked the gate, ran into the house, and locked the door, thinking I was safe. When I looked out of the window, I saw the bear pushing a stick through a gap in the door and the bolt slid open. I was stunned to realize the bear could open the door from the outside. I was terrified and woke up.

I was still scared after I woke up. Suddenly, I thought, “Isn’t the bear the temptation of the mobile phone! It came with ferocious force and could see how the door was bolted, just like the mobile phone has taken advantage of my weakness to attract me and ultimately destroy me.

I put my palms together and said to Master: “I lost my way and almost forgot my mission as a Dafa disciple. Thank you, Master, for waking me up so that I can rectify myself and get back on track.”

I heard from a fellow practitioner who practiced Taoism in the past that in ancient China, some Taoist practitioners gouged their eyes out and deafened themselves to be free of the interference and distractions of the outside world. I was touched by their strong will and dedication, regardless of whether what they did was right or wrong.

Remembering Our Mission

We are Dafa practitioners and we do not go to extremes in our cultivation. However, because we cultivate in ordinary society, we can’t escape many things happening around us. What’s most important then, is whether we can remain unmoved in the face of temptations and distractions. Only by maintaining a calm and clear mind can we stay unaffected in today’s confusing and chaotic world.

In the novel Journey to the West, Monkey King’s first test after he became a disciple of the Tang Monk was his encounter with the “six bandits,” namely, “The Eye That Sees and Delights,” “The Ear That Hears and Rages,” “The Nose That Smells and Loves,” “The Tongue That Tastes and Desires,” “The Mind That Perceives and Covets,” and “The Body That Bears and Suffers.” The Monkey King had to fight the six bandits to overcome the earthly desires. Only when his mind was purified was he able to accompany the Tang Monk on the journey to obtain the Buddhist scriptures.

Zhuge Liang was King Liu Bei’s prime minister during the Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China. In his admonition to his son, Zhuge Liang wrote: “A man of virtue cultivates his character by keeping a peaceful mind and cultivating his morality by living frugally. Only freedom from vanity can show one life’s lofty goals, and only peace of mind can help him to achieve something really lasting. To be talented, one must learn, and to learn, one must have a peaceful mind. One cannot develop his talents without learning, and one cannot learn without peace of mind.”

It’s very important to maintain a calm and peaceful mind in cultivating one’s character and to be able to learn in general.

Buddha School cultivation emphasizes purity, tranquility, and one’s state of mind. One needs to make sure one’s thoughts are pure. When one’s thoughts are pure, one’s mind will become tranquil, and when the mind becomes tranquil, one’s wisdom will open up and one’s realm will elevate. In Falun Dafa cultivation, we also need to practice tranquility and maintain a peaceful mind.

Cultivation is about constantly purifying our minds and bodies. The Falun Dafa that we practice is a true cultivation practice of high virtue, and Master is guiding us toward high levels. It does not make sense to keep pouring those vulgar, unhealthy things into our eyes and ears. We will have to work even harder to eliminate those things as we cultivate later on. It’s already difficult to let go of our human attachments, and now we are creating more tribulations for ourselves by becoming addicted to mobile phones. It doesn’t make sense. Aren’t we also wasting the precious time Master gave us through his own enormous sacrifice and suffering?

The ancients did not have an interest in or the leisure that we do to pursue “fun” and earthly pleasures. They went to work at sunrise and rested at sunset, leading simple and decent lives. Their minds were also relatively more peaceful, so it was somewhat easier for them to cultivate their characters. However, Dafa wasn’t taught to the public at that time, and even if they wanted to cultivate toward high levels, they wouldn’t have been able to find a true Way.

Today, we are so fortunate to be able to obtain Falun Dafa, the true mind-body cultivation that can take us to high levels. We must cherish this precious opportunity and seize whatever time is left to cultivate solidly, find our shortcomings, and let go of our attachments—instead of wasting our time indulging in ordinary people’s trivial pleasures.

The external environment is a bit more relaxed these days, but interference is everywhere, and we must not slack off in our cultivation. It is very easy to fall into a comfort zone in a comfortable environment. Isn’t this another form of persecution by the old forces?

An elderly practitioner in our area passed away last year. She said before she left us, “I didn’t do well and had some loopholes. After the pandemic, I became obsessed with online novels and dramas, and sometimes I watched them till 2:00 or 3:00 a.m.”

In fact, this practitioner had a very good cultivation environment. She was also a sensible person and did the three things very well. Sometimes, she also exhibited divine powers. But because she could not resist the temptations of online novels and dramas, the old forces took advantage of her loophole to persecute her.

Opportunity knocks but once. Let’s put down our mobile phones, calm our minds, and put our hearts into cultivation.

It may be a bit difficult at first, and we may be tempted to turn on the phone. But if we remind ourselves of the vows we made and the mission we shoulder, and if we remember that we are the most solemn cultivators in the universe, then we won’t dare to undermine our determination by seeking to be entertained.

Master told us,

“In fact, let me tell you that they do not have correct thoughts to guide themselves, and it will not be easy for them to quit that way. As a cultivator, why don’t you take it as an attachment to be abandoned, and see if you can quit?” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)

Even though we aren’t physically by Master’s side, he is with us all the time. I asked Master to strengthen me as I struggled to eliminate this addiction, because it’s something a Falun Dafa practitioner should not pursue. Afterwards it felt a lot easier to let go of it, as if the thread that was pulling me had been cut. I deleted all the entertainment software and apps on my phone. I now have a phone as clean as an old-fashioned phone, and I use it only to make and receive calls. My heart has also regained its earlier calm state.