Men’s Health Week 12-18th June 23
Topic: Men’s Health & The Internet'
It's easy to write about the Internet and to talk about how it's a problem in terms of addictions. There are documentaries about how addictive social media is. There are books on porn addiction and articles on online gambling. These things are very real problems, real dangers for us within the Muslim Ummah. We do have men who have problems with addictions and the internet is a gateway to vices of different kinds.
Ibn Miskawayh (932-1030) the ethicist prepared tables of virtues and vices. So, the reality of vice and the impact of vices have on men is something that has been known within the ummah for centuries. With this there has also been compassion, guidance support and healing - counsel. For people concerned about such vices counsel still exists though this article is not going to focus on these concerns.
These are serious but obvious concerns, but the focus here is on more subtle concerns found in Muslim men who sincerely worship Allah and turn to social media for guidance.
We can turn to Allah through fear of Him or through love of Him. Neither motivator is wrong. But TV and particularly social media are skilled in manipulation of fear. Fear of Allah is good but the manipulation of that fear is not nor is the impact that it has on the believer.
84% of the UK use social media. Social media is addictive having the same sort of impact on the brain as a slot machine – you don’t actually know the content until you open the app so that ‘spontaneous reward’ feeling is the release of dopamine – the chemical linked to pleasures like eating or sex.
Social media feeds the mind intentionally to stimulate emotion, and it is easier to stimulate feelings of anger, fear and resentment than it is feelings of joy, affection and security. Ironically people are more likely to use social media when they’re experiencing a negative emotion, such as boredom or vulnerability, to distract themselves from these feelings. But builds anxiety and fear and what is the fear? Is it fear of the judgement of Allah?
Though many devout Muslim men use social media to find Islamic information to inform them in their Islamic practice the way that social media works heightens emotions and manipulates even when the content is informative. This builds into a loop increasing the anxiety or insecurity of the user. Additionally social media platforms thrive on social proof of psychological behaviour where people copy the actions of others in an attempt to perform the correct behaviour in a situation. This is good – but only if the behaviour or guidance first given is good, because if it is not, it is provided in an environment that stimulates feelings of fear or anger. Anxiety, fear and anger do not help us to make good decisions. Social media drives these strong emotions.
We are people of the middle way…
“…Always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course, whereby you will reach your target (of paradise)." - Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 470
This is not a path that is found though increased fear or anger. Too often when there is increased fear about Islamic practice the anxiety it creates can become an obsessive compulsive disorder leading to more isolation and fear. With increased anger comes problems of anger management, and with that the victims, those who suffer when anger is not managed.
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The believers who show the most perfect faith are those who have the best behaviour, and the best of you are those who are the best to their wives".
[At-Tirmidhi, who categorised it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].
Men have responsibilities to serve Allah, this starts with sincerity of heart in one’s intention. So we need to know what we think, what our intentions are. Insha’Allah then to act appropriately in worship of Allah within their situation and if we have people for whom we are responsible to enact those responsibilities to the best of our ability, including leadership. This requires reflection (fiqr) and trust in Allah not anger or fear even though these are the very emotions that make social media work.
There is a lot of Islamic guidance in social media. Not all is good. Not all is bad. But the tools of social media in themselves are designed to prevent us from being people of the middle path, or from being people who reflect. So, to protect our hearts and to protect the hearts of those for whom we are responsible we must guard our hearts from anger and fear.
Try the following questions to protect your heart:
How do I feel after being on social media for this amount of time?
Am I tense, am I anxious, am I angry?
Do I feel more tense or angry than I did before I came onto the internet?
Do I need to do anything to bring me back to balance (perhaps a breathing exercise)?
Do I need to take a break?
How clear am I about if I actually agree with either what is being shared or the way it is being shared?
Am I reacting emotionally before thinking rationally?
Do I need to reflect on what I have learned before committing to it?
How can I check the validity of what I am learning on social media, outside of social media?
And finally...
If the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) was here right now what would I do with what I learned from social media, how would I behave?