The Social Media Trap

Whenever the discussion about social media being harmful comes up, it is usually associated with young people. However, the reality is that social media can harm people of all ages. If you’re reading this on your phone, then you’re already part of the story. The feed in our hands was not built to help us. It was built to hold our attention. Every scroll, every pause, every like teaches the algorithm a little about us.

So it’s worth pausing and asking: what is it actually doing to us?

Stealing our time. Let's start with our screen time - check your own now. Many of us would not be proud of it. For example, it could be two hours a day – that would be fourteen hours a week, which is more than half a day every single week. Hours that could easily go into our families, our studies, our work, the Qur'an or simply a good night's sleep. Of course no one intentionally plans on losing significant parts of their life to their phones, but it happens five minutes at a time.

The comparison trap. Social media shows us everyone's highlights and then leaves us alone with our own reality. The holiday, promotion, new car or the perfect family. No one ever posts the arguments, the struggles or the raw hardship they are facing. Slowly, without even realising, we start measuring our entire lives against someone else's highlight reel. And in chasing the perfect post, we often become so obsessed with capturing the moment that we miss the moment itself.

As we engage in social media more and more, gratitude slowly drains away, whilst envy creeps in. Allah ﷻ warned us about exactly this: “And do not strain your eyes towards the enjoyment We have given some of them, the glitter of this worldly life, by which We test them. The provision of your Lord is better and more lasting.” [Surah Ta-Ha, 20:131]

Battle of ideologies. Social media influencers are globally shaping the thinking of the masses at a faster rate than ever before. In some cases, people are paid by organisations to push a specific agenda or worldview. From political propaganda, to what makes a "real man" or shortcuts on getting rich with minimal effort. The algorithm doesn’t check whether something is true, or whether it will cause harm. It asks one question: will you keep watching? The more you watch, the more you are shown and eventually even the most fringe idea can become common sense.

If these problems are difficult for adults, imagine how they could impact a 13-year-old. They could be addicted to their feeds, comparing themselves to unrealistic content or getting brainwashed by influencers their parents have never heard of.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The feet of a servant will not move on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about his life and how he spent it, his knowledge and what he did with it, his wealth, where he earned it and how he spent it, and his body and how he wore it out.” [Tirmidhi]

Our life. Our knowledge. Our body. The eyes that watched, the thumbs that scrolled, the hours that quietly disappeared. All of it will be accounted for. The point isn’t to frighten us off our phones. It’s to wake us up while there’s still time to change.

If you can step away from social media altogether, even better. If not, then make it your tool, never your master. Here are three quick tips:

Begin and end the day with Allah, not the feed. Try no phone for the first hour after waking and the last hour before sleep. Our children learn more from where our eyes go than from anything we tell them.

Unfollow freely. Any account that weakens your faith or leaves you less grateful, more anxious or more angry - it has no place in your life. Unfollow them.

Replace - don't just remove. Deleting an app can leave a gap, and gaps get filled. Replace it with purposeful positivity: a page of Qur’an, a book, a walk (try leaving your phone at home), a community initiative, a proper conversation with your family round the dinner table.

May Allah free us from the social media trap, put barakah in our time and make our eyes, our hearts and our hours witnesses for us, not against us. Ameen.