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It’s past midnight.
The room is swallowed by darkness, save for the dim glow of a screen. Someone, perhaps you, perhaps me, lies curled under a blanket, eyes locked on the screen, each flicker of light drawing us further into its pull. Outside, the world sleeps. Inside, the thumb moves like it’s chasing something unnamed. A laugh, a connection, a feeling, something.
It starts harmlessly. A reel, a story, a post, a “just five more minutes” kind of lie we tell ourselves with practiced ease. But minutes blur into hours. The pillow grows warm. The mind, strangely restless. And still, we scroll. We consume endless lives, while our own lives lie untouched beside us, like a book we’ve promised to read one day.
This isn’t just technology. Its addiction dressed as entertainment. We call it connection, yet it disconnects us, from our surroundings, from each other, even from ourselves.
Social media is a silent thief that doesn’t break into our homes, but into our minds, our routines, and our relationships.
At what point did we stop using social media, and start letting it use us?
The Digital Beginnings
Even toddlers are now part of this cycle. To calm their cries, they’re handed screens; small, glowing rectangles that become pacifiers. What begins as a quiet moment for the parent becomes the child’s first introduction to the digital world, a subtle yet powerful shift from real-world interaction to screen-based comfort. And so, before they can read a book, they learn how to swipe.
And the youth? They’re living online. They feel the need to post everything; from morning coffees to mid-night thoughts. Every moment must be seen to feel real. But are they really living these moments? Or just capturing them for validation?
Social media has become a stage, and life is a performance. Likes are applause. Comments are approval. And instead of reflection, self-growth, or worship, they are caught in trends that fade as quickly as they appear.
The Endless Scroll vs. Real-Life Priorities
Now, pause. Take a step back.
Look around in cafés, waiting rooms, family gatherings. People sit together yet couldn’t be further apart. Heads down, eyes locked onto screens, fingers scrolling through an endless stream of content.
Some are using their devices with purpose; sending a message to a loved one, reading something valuable, learning something new. But most of them? Just scrolling. Not out of curiosity, but out of habit. Unaware of the minutes slipping away.
Social media is built to keep us hooked, keeping us engaged longer than we planned. Everything about it is designed to be addictive. Endless scrolling, instant gratification from likes and comments, and constant notifications, these are all meticulously crafted to keep us engaged.
Have you ever wondered how much time we actually spend online?
Two hours and 24 minutes a day!
In a year, that adds up to nearly a month, a month spent scrolling, liking, watching.
(Social Media Statistics Details, University of Maine)
But imagine what we could do with that time.
The books we could finish.
The skills we could master.
The relationships we could nurture.
Yet, instead, we swipe, we scroll and we refresh, lost in an algorithm designed to hold us captive.
The Holy Qur’an reminds us about the importance of time:
“By the fleeting Time,
Surely, man is in a state of loss,
Except those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to accept truth, and exhort one another to be steadfast.”
Similarly, the Holy Bible warns us to use our time wisely:
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
(Ephesians 5:15-16, NIV- new international version)
The message is clear: Time is a gift. What we do with it today will shape the life we live tomorrow.
The Hidden Impact on Our Hearts
But it’s not just our time that’s consumed. Social media sneaks into our minds and hearts, quietly shaping our thoughts and emotions in ways we often fail to notice. It has been widely observed that excessive social media usage can lead to feelings of inadequacy, depression and anxiety. We start comparing our lives to others, even when we know deep down that most of what we see online is filtered and staged.
We start feeling like we’re not good enough, that we’re behind in life, that we’re missing out. Instead of being grateful for what we have, we start feeling dissatisfied. And that feeling of emptiness? It doesn’t go away; not with more scrolling, not with more likes, not with more entertainment.
Overindulgence in anything, be it social media, food, or entertainment, comes at a price. Balance is the key to maintaining emotional health and well-being.
As the Bible reminds us:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV- new international version)
Similarly, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), the Holy founder of Islam, warned us about excessive attachment to worldly matters:
“Be moderate in seeking worldly things, for everyone will be facilitated for which he was created.”
(Sunan Ibn Majah, 2142. In-Book reference; Book 12, Hadith 6)
Social media is a tool, and a tool can only be useful when we control it. The moment social media starts controlling us, it stops being a tool, it becomes a cage disguised as freedom.
Neglecting Our Divine Purpose
We weren’t created to chase notifications.
We weren’t sent to this Earth to master algorithms or lose ourselves in trends.
We weren’t born just to exist; we were born to live with meaning, to seek our true purpose, the reason we are here.
There is just something different about mornings that begin with prayer instead of posts, and nights that end in reflection rather than reels. But how often do we get that anymore?
We wake up, and before our feet touch the floor, our fingers reach for the screen. The Holy Qur’an, Bible, Gita, gathering dust on our shelves while our phones sit fully charged by our pillows, ready to fill the first moments of our day. We consume stories, trends, faces, voices… but neglect our soul.
The Holy Qur’an reminds us of our true purpose:
“And I have not created the Jinn and the men but that they may worship Me.”
Similarly, the Bible states:
“Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,”
(Exodus 23: 25, NIV- new international version)
In Sikhism, Guru Nanak taught that the highest purpose of life is to reconnect with Akal: The Timeless One.
And yet across cities and homes, across generations, the noise of the digital world is louder than the call of our Creator.
Faith, for many, becomes something distant. Spirituality, something optional. Worship, something squeezed between tasks, fitted in like an afterthought.
We long for peace, but scroll for it instead. We feel the emptiness, but we don’t name it. And slowly, the digital world becomes our first home, and the spiritual one, a foreign land. If we never pause to reflect and realign, we risk losing sight of who we truly are.
But Social Media Isn’t the Enemy
It’s easy to blame social media for all our problems, but the truth is, social media itself isn’t the issue; it’s how we use it. Technology has given us incredible opportunities to stay connected, learn, and even make a positive change. But like any tool, it can build or break, heal or harm. The choice is ours.
Just as we are mindful of what we eat or how we spend money, we must also be mindful of what we consume online. If we allow social media to shape our thoughts, emotions, and self-worth without control we start losing touch with our sense of identity, purpose, and connection to reality, and we become mere reflections of what the digital world dictates.
Every click, every scroll, every moment online is a choice: a choice that shapes our thoughts, our time, and ultimately, our lives. If we’re not careful, what was meant to be a tool in our hands can become a chain around our minds.
But the power to break free has always been ours. The question is: are we using it wisely?
We check our phones more than we check in with ourselves. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The key isn’t abandoning social media, it’s balance. So how do we break free from the cycle and reclaim our focus in a world designed to keep us endlessly engaged?
Taking Back Control
When was the last time you sat in silence, without reaching for your phone? When was the last time you truly experienced a moment, without the urge to check notifications, refresh your feed, or scroll just a little longer. The world around us is filled with noise, notifications, and endless distractions. The more we give in, the more we lose: time, focus, and even a sense of who we are. We have the power to reclaim our time, disconnect from distractions, and refocus on ourselves. It begins with small, intentional steps:
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) taught us a beautiful prayer, shared by His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba), the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community:
“O Allah create in our hearts love, reform us, and make us tread upon the paths of security, and take us to light saving us from darkness, and save us from overt and covert indecencies, and place blessings for us in our ears, in our eyes, in our hearts, in our wives and in our children, and turn to us with mercy. You are the acceptor of repentance and the one who forgives time and again. Make us the ones who are grateful for your favours and appreciate them and accept them. And, O Allah, perfect Your favors on us.”
(Friday Sermon Delivered on 20th May, 2016)
Too often, we convince ourselves that we’ll make a change tomorrow; but tomorrow isn’t promised. What we have is today, this moment, right now. Let’s strive to use it wisely. Let’s take a step back from worldly distractions and rediscover the true essence of our existence.
If social media has the power to shape our thoughts and consume our time, then we have the power to take that control back. The real question is will we?
Every moment is an opportunity to make a positive change within ourselves.
Let’s take it; before another moment slips away.
About the author: Qanita Mahmood, daughter of Sajid Mahmood Butter serves as the General Secretary for Lajna and Nasirat in Jamia Ahmadiyya International and Mankesim Circuit. She is dedicated to studying religious literature.
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