I absolutely agree that we need to reduce the time we spend on WhatsApp and other social media.
Perhaps I can share my experience. Alhamdulillah in the past month I was able to be very productive, Alhamdulillah, although it was a bit challenging.
- Since everyone is using social media for important messages, and because it’s FREE as they say, you need to explain again and again that you are offline. And that’s a problem since you still need to contact some family members. I suggest you open one account in an app that you know never occupies your time. Personally what I did is that I had the Line app which I used to communicate just for my family, since sometimes you run out of credit and have to crawl back to the free system. So just prepare yourself. And so whenever someone tells me I sent you an important message, why haven’t you responded? Firstly if it were that important surely she would have been forced to call or send an SMS. And secondly I did give them another suitable way to contact me.
- Do not forget you need to fight your nafs. Since we are so used to social media, you’ll end up thinking: “I think I should sneak in and see what’s up in WhatsApp” So you really need to fight your desires.
- You need to harden your heart a bit since your friends whom you are used to chatting are going to send you an sms to check up on you.
- Think of the high level of achievement you are about to accomplish. That should always be your motivating force.
- Close the doors of whispers of shaytan. Shaytan as always, never wants good for us. So he will play with your mind and twist it around and make you do something more time wasting than if you were on WhatsApp. Like you could be browsing the net and end up wasting so much time!
- الأمور بمقاصدها
That’s the Qaeedah (principle) in Usool al Fiqh(the foundations of Jurisprudence). Your intention matters! If you decided to shut down all distractions just for Allah’s sake, or so that you can do a certain unattended job which you always postponed, then have your intention intact as you are doing it for Allah. Because work is ibaadah, so play your role.
- Whenever you just start wondering what’s going on in the WhatsApp world, just distract yourself by thinking of the work you’re doing, and keep going because once you continue thinking too much then thoughts build into actions, and finally you end up going back.
Lastly, just a word to make something a FACT- some people say I can’t force myself out of social media, I just can’t, it’s my life. But the truth is that you can! You can and you can, you just need to plan yourself well, close your eyes, and move forward.
Control your nafs! Don’t be a slave to Social Media!
Written by: Sr. Amatullah B.M.
TEAM IR
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