Making the most of this month helps one realize how much time we fritter away. In trying to balance our daily Quran recitation targets, extra prayers, sadaqah, community and masjid activities with our work or school we are forced to cut out a lot of things from our daily routine. Time in Ramadhan is simply gold! Women even spend more time on planning and fixing Sahur and Iftar meals or gatherings. We prioritize by default.
In all of this however, one time waster still slips through the checks we put in place- the internet.
In our generation. it has become a bigger space than our real world with vast amounts of data churned out per second (including this post). It is actually what you make of it-either a source of Barakah or Fitnah (blessing or temptation) that matters.
You can use it to reach more people with beneficial messages about this month and all it brings. Many have come into Islam through educative social media posts. You could use it to learn new things especially for those living in places without a real Muslim community.
Howver, care must be taken to avoid posts that do not directly contribute towards your Deen goals.
You do not have to open every link to that skit, article, audio or video. Some just scroll through all their pages liking up and down – some for succour others just because they are bored- absorbing lots of information, seeing too much and being detached from our realities. Sometimes this even leads to depression as we are privy to real and concocted achievements of others we would not have known about if we had not clicked that icon. It is the challenge of our time and when we finally get it together , we would achieve so much more with our technology.
Cut down on time spent on social media and restrict your use to only things of benefit. Follow more accounts that build you and your dreams. Be independent, you don’t have to do what others are into just because. Peer pressure is even worse online. There are so many people touching lives and making a good impact, effecting positive changes with the simple gift of technology available to all. More people have access to this resource than any other.
@hasibMN on Twitter has posted a thread on the effect of social media on the youth and I try to follow his advice for using it in Ramadhan- to not go on social media until you have finished your 20 pages of Quran each day.
It takes some discipline but it is doable. Let the internet be a tool for positivity not a distraction.
Oumissa Inspire 