The Importance of Balancing Social Media with Responsibilities and Faith
The Need for Seriousness and Time Management on WhatsApp
Written by: Maqbool Ahmed Salafi
Interpreter: Hasan Fuzail
Social media has significant benefits, but its drawbacks are also considerable. One of the most important issues is the wastage of time. The mismanagement of time affects many of our duties, from the rights of people to the rights of Allah. As far as I know, none of us has a profession that involves using WhatsApp; everyone surely has some source of income, and throughout the day, there are domestic, social, and religious activities. In such a scenario, if someone spends all their time day and night on WhatsApp, they will neglect their responsibilities, be unjust to their profession, wrong their parents, siblings, spouse, and children in domestic affairs, and even fail to maintain regularity in prayers, fieldwork, and duties according to their schedule.
I have been connected with social media for many years, and I have noticed a significant wastage of time through this medium. I have seen people’s lives ruined, division spread in households, economies and societies affected, mental stress, negligence in fulfilling rights, and relationships with outsiders growing while ignoring close ones. Those who spend excessive time here eventually lose interest in everything else; they make this their constant companion day and night. Their physical health is affected, they lose their sense of time, and they keep postponing important tasks until they suddenly find themselves in great trouble. In their quest for new things, forming relationships with new people, and trying to participate everywhere, they often end up doing the wrong things, engaging in unethical behaviors. Gradually, their morals weaken, and their focus on good deeds diminishes.
Based on my experiences, I advise those connected with social media to minimize its usage. Use it only after fulfilling your responsibilities and obligations, and restrict it to your free time. In fact, choose a specific suitable time of day or night and limit yourself to half an hour or an hour. Remember, many people want to join groups where there are instant comments and discussions, where there are frequent posts and hundreds of shares, but such people do not last long in the field. Only those who have time management, consistency, and seriousness can sustain themselves in any field.
Another point is that those who try to gain a lot of knowledge quickly through social media often do not retain that knowledge for long, and the knowledge acquired in haste from social media soon fades from memory. Hence, seriousness along with time management is essential here. Many people ask a scholar a question, and if they do not receive an immediate response, they break off contact. They join a group, and if there is a delay in responses or a lack of posts, they leave. In the trust of religion, we advise such people to show seriousness, and we also advise scholars not to rush their responses. Think about the effort, scrutiny, and research that goes into preparing an answer when a question is sent to a fatwa committee, and then the response is given. On social media, many people with little knowledge publish hasty responses that cause confusion among the public and create difficulties for scholars.
Yesterday, I announced on Facebook that I needed a few people to join my scholarly group “Islamiat.” I asked those interested to message me on WhatsApp. Within moments, hundreds of numbers were listed under the announcement. I was surprised about what to do with all of them, as I had already received more messages on WhatsApp than I needed. So, with the hope of reward from Allah, I saved all the numbers with names from the Facebook list and created a new group named “Islamiat 2.” But once people joined the group, they started leaving. I only included those who had requested to be added and explained the group’s rules, so what went wrong? Not all members of the new group behaved this way, but some did. From their actions, I realized these people were not serious; they might have thought this group would be chaotic, with post after post, and they would spend all day and night engaged in it. But my group is serious, and when their expectations were not met, they started leaving. This reminded me of the false companions of Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) who wrote to him repeatedly, inviting him to Kufa and promising their support, but when Hussain reached them, they abandoned him.
Anyhow, adopt seriousness, as haste is never a good thing, and be extremely mindful of time on social media. Just as you have to fulfill the rights of your body, you must also fulfill the rights of your family, your Creator and Master, and the people of the world.