Social Media & Capitalism: Turning Digital Distraction into Islamic Duty

Everything is Being Recorded — By Angels and Algorithms

“And the record ˹of deeds˺ will be laid ˹open˺, and you will see the criminals in fear of what is ˹written˺ in it. They will cry, ‘Woe to us! What kind of record is this that does not leave any sin, small or large, unlisted?’ They will find whatever they did present ˹before them˺. And your Lord will never wrong anyone.”
— Surah Al-Kahf

“Not a word does a person utter except that there is a vigilant observer ready to record it.”
— Surah Qaf

Fifty years ago, the idea that every word, every action, and every fleeting moment could be recorded in excruciating detail would have been nearly impossible to grasp. As believers, of course, we have always had complete imaan in the unseen — in the reality of angels recording our deeds in the preserved tablet, al-Lawh al-Mahfuz. But what has changed today is not the truth of this divine record — it is our own lived experience.

Today, I can scroll back fifteen or twenty years and read the exact words I typed in an online conversation. This is not an exaggeration — I still have chats from 2006 on platforms like Orkut, a name many today might not even recognize. Yet those digital traces remain — as sharp and vivid as the day they were typed.

Now imagine the sheer scale of today’s social media. The texts you’ve sent, the WhatsApp arguments you’ve had, the comments, debates, public posts, private photos, shared videos, voice notes, rants, praise, jokes, opinions — every byte of it recorded. Not just in the unseen scrolls of the angels, but also by your own hands.

Worse still, much of it isn’t just in your hands anymore. It is distributed — on servers around the world, shared with hundreds, sometimes thousands and millions, of strangers, followers, or friends. It exists in digital eternity, often far beyond our ability to retrieve or delete.

SubḥānAllāh. Is this not terrifying? Is this not enough for us to pause and reflect deeply?

It is from this perspective that we must begin to understand the world of social media and the digital universe we are immersed in. These tools were handed to us without a manual. We were not taught how to navigate them. They promised connection — to family, to classmates, to communities. They began with the innocent goal of sharing memories and moments. But slowly — subtly, and by design — they transformed into something altogether different.

You Are the Product: The Hidden Cost of Free Platforms

Today, social media is not just a tool. It is a machine — complex, evolving, and extremely intelligent. It understands you more intimately than you know yourself. With every tap, every scroll, every lingering glance, it profiles you. It studies your emotions, tracks your responses, measures how long you pause, how fast you swipe, what catches your interest, what makes you laugh, what angers you, what saddens you.

And then — it begins to feed you. Not what will benefit you. Not what will elevate your soul. Not what reminds you of your Creator. But what keeps you addicted. What maximizes your screen time. What delivers profit to the platform. What manipulates your dopamine to crave just one more video, one more scroll, one more like.

This didn’t happen accidentally. It is the product of a system. A system rooted in a capitalist ideology that commodifies everything — including human attention. The capitalist system has no concern for your well-being, your spiritual health, or your societal cohesion. It operates for profit. And in this model, the corporations are the beneficiaries, and your life is the resource being mined.

Let me illustrate: Have you ever wondered how much influencers make? The upper tier of influencers — those with millions of followers — can earn tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per month. Even mid-level influencers, some of whom you may follow, easily earn $10,000 to $30,000 monthly. But who is paying them? Are you paying them directly? Of course not. You’re not charged a single penny to scroll through these platforms.

So how are they making so much money?

The truth is sobering: You are the product. Your time, your attention, your clicks, your scrolling behavior — these are being packaged and sold to advertisers. Your behavior is studied, your preferences are learned, your routines are analyzed. And in the process, your mental health, your spiritual clarity, your intellectual independence — all of it is being compromised.

You are not just using the platform. You are feeding it — with your life.

It is a sobering realization, but one that we must confront if we are to navigate this digital age with wisdom, clarity, and purpose.

Bread, Circus, and the Hijacking of the Muslim Mind

There is another crucial aspect of the capitalist model that must be understood. It follows an age-old strategy once employed by the Roman Empire known as "Bread and Circus"—a deliberate political mechanism designed to distract the masses with superficial entertainment while systemic corruption remained unchecked. By keeping people absorbed in entertainment, the system ensured its dominance without resistance. Today, we are witnessing a modern version of the same strategy, albeit far more sophisticated and deeply embedded in our daily lives.

Beyond the exhausting routine of a nine-to-five job, which often drains a person’s time and energy just to make ends meet, society has been overwhelmed by what can rightly be called organized distractions. These distractions are not random or accidental. They are intentional and systematic. From sports, blockbuster movies, endless Netflix series, and video games that captivate even those in their thirties and forties, to perhaps the most powerful of all—social media—each of these distractions is engineered to occupy the mind, suppress critical thinking, and prevent any contemplation about deeper societal or ideological issues.

The youth, who are meant to be the drivers of change in any society, have been among the most impacted. Consumed by a digital haze, they become too preoccupied to reflect, too numb to question, and too distracted to challenge the status quo. There is no need for them to ponder over injustice in the world, or even be concerned about what’s happening in their own communities. All they are expected to do is scroll endlessly on their devices, losing themselves in a chain of videos and posts that offer fleeting amusement but no lasting value.

These platforms are designed to turn minutes into hours without the user even realizing it. While not every corner of the internet is devoid of benefit, the overwhelming majority of the content available is senseless, superficial, and in many cases, haram. It is content that neither nourishes the intellect nor feeds the soul. Instead, it leaves a person emptier and more detached from reality and spirituality.

Craving the World, Forgetting the Akhirah

What is even more concerning is how Muslims themselves have not only fallen into this trap but are now active participants in perpetuating this culture. Influencer culture has seeped deep into our own communities. In a desperate attempt to go viral and gain digital validation, individuals are ready to do anything. Young men parodying women to provoke laughter. Hijabi women laying bare their private lives for public view. And what is presented as personal life is anything but real. The lives we are shown are curated, staged, filtered. The smiles, the settings, even the vulnerability—all carefully scripted to maintain an illusion.

Yet, behind these illusions is a sobering truth. These influencers might be gaining likes, followers, fame, and money, but in the process, they are losing something far more valuable—the pleasure of Allah. They gain the world, but at what cost? A handful of Islamic phrases here and there, an Eid Mubarak post, an Umrah vlog filled with selfies and shared moments at the Kaaba, are used to paint an image of piety. But the substance is lost.

As for the viewers—ordinary Muslims like us—we begin to envy those lives we see through filtered lenses. We ask ourselves: Why can’t I look like that? Why doesn’t my spouse behave like that? Why are their kids so perfect, their home so elegant, their life so put-together? This constant comparison begins to hollow us from within. We measure our happiness, our success, and our worth against standards that are artificial and unattainable. Our hearts begin to question the will of Allah.

These thoughts are not just unhealthy—they are spiritually dangerous. They lead to dissatisfaction with the decree of Allah. They lead to ingratitude. They plant the seeds of hasad and despair. Allah, in His infinite wisdom, addresses this directly in the Qur’an:

وَلَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَىٰ مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِۦٓ أَزْوَٰجًۭا مِّنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ۚ وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌۭ وَأَبْقَىٰ

"And do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [certain] categories of them, the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring." (Surah Taha, Ayah 131)

This ayah is a reminder that what we see others enjoying in this world may very well be a test for them, and that our provision from Allah, whether less or more, is what truly matters. What He gives is sufficient, and what He withholds is out of His wisdom. Everyone has their share of Rizq, and no scroll, swipe, or viral trend can change that.

Let us reflect deeply on this. The world of digital illusion is not just shaping what we see. It is shaping how we think, how we feel, and how we believe. And unless we break from its spell, we risk losing more than just time. We risk losing sight of our purpose.

Reclaiming Social Media: From Distraction to Dawah

So we discussed the negative side of social media. But does it have a positive side as well? Absolutely. In fact, you can tell very quickly whether your social media usage is leaning toward benefit or harm. Just open your feed and spend thirty seconds browsing. What kind of posts are being shown to you? That alone will tell you how the algorithm has profiled you.

This algorithm was designed with precision. It monitors how long you look at a post, how fast you scroll, what you like or skip, and gradually builds a digital reflection of your personality. Are you shown stand-up comedy clips? Dancing and singing? Celebrity gossip? Local controversies? Are your feeds filled with trivial debates, political mudslinging, or senseless entertainment? Or are you seeing updates about Palestine, reminders from Islamic scholars, podcasts addressing issues of the Ummah, or important news stories from the Muslim world? The algorithm knows you well. And based on what it knows, it serves you what it believes will keep you engaged longer.

But on the positive side, these same platforms can become a source of immense good. When used intentionally, social media can be a tool to learn from reputable scholars, engage with podcasts discussing real issues of the Ummah, catch up on important news, and share valuable content. And there is one very powerful dimension to this tool: its ability to shape public opinion.

Because of the way the algorithm is built, if enough people talk about something and it starts to gain traction, the platform has no choice but to amplify it. It rewards virality. When hundreds and thousands, even millions, speak about an issue, the system takes note. And it responds.

Take the example of Gaza. A few years ago, you would see very little about it. Only Muslims shared some posts here and there. Today, because of consistent sharing and awareness, because of people who tirelessly used social media to amplify the truth, Gaza is in the global spotlight. Videos, images, interviews, and livestreams from the ground are being seen around the world. And even when the tech companies tried to shadowban or censor these posts, the momentum was so strong that it could not be hidden anymore. The truth was too widespread, too many people were sharing, engaging, and resharing.

And it did not just end with awareness. Slowly, it began to shape public opinion. The world is watching. We now see non-Muslim voices calling for justice. People are literally boarding boats to break the siege. Activists are marching. Campaigns are being organized. University students, workers, entire communities are mobilizing. This is the power of mass awareness. And social media played a huge role in it.

So what can we do practically? Let us begin with some key things to avoid:

First, do not waste your time watching content that does not benefit you either in this dunya or in the akhirah. Entertainment in moderation is one thing, but addiction to nonsense and haram content is spiritually and mentally destructive.

Second, avoid comparing yourself to others. The lives people show online are fake, filtered, curated. You are only seeing what they want you to see. Comparing yourself to these unrealistic portrayals only brings dissatisfaction, jealousy, and ungratefulness toward Allah.

Third, for those who are content creators or aspire to be influencers, remember that every single post you make is recorded. Every video, every image, every caption will be brought back in front of you on the Day of Judgment. Fear Allah. If your intention is to spread khayr and goodness, then may Allah help you. But if your intention is fame, followers, and wealth, then either change your intention or leave the platform. Because you will not be able to bear the weight of what you are building.

Fourth, do not engage in sectarian debates or arguments on issues where the scholars have differed for centuries. These discussions, especially when held in public comments, rarely result in anything good. They create division, not unity. And more often than not, they become arrogant and demeaning. If you really care about the truth, reach out privately and speak with wisdom and manners. Otherwise, remain silent.

Now what should we do?

Use these platforms to stay informed. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "The believers are like one body. If one part hurts, the entire body responds with fever and restlessness." If you do not know what is happening to the Ummah, how will you ever feel the pain? And if you do not feel the pain, how will you ever think of action?

There are countless beneficial resources online. Podcasts, Islamic lectures, political analyses, reminders, historical documentaries, tafsir series, and much more. Listen, benefit, and share. Become part of the network that spreads khayr instead of nonsense.

Get involved. Today, this is one of the most important platforms to engage with the public. We cannot ignore it. Share content that matters. Speak on issues that matter. Whether it is your local community or the global Muslim world, add value to the conversation. Share your thoughts with sincerity. Counter misinformation with facts. Educate people about Islam, our culture, our values, and our beliefs.

Use it for da'wah. You do not have to be a scholar to call people toward truth. Share beneficial posts. Translate important messages. Correct misconceptions. Promote justice. Defend the oppressed.

Use it to amplify the voices of the voiceless. Continue to speak about Gaza. Share their stories. Expose the oppression. Highlight the betrayal of those who support the siege and those who block aid. You never know who will read your post. It could reach a person of influence. It could reach someone in authority. And most importantly, it is being recorded by the angels and by your own device. Let your scroll be counted for something meaningful.

Remember, in many Muslim lands, people do not even have the freedom to post such content. But we do. That freedom comes with a responsibility. So let us be responsible. Let us use our platforms wisely. And finally, do not stop at just sharing a picture or a quote. Address those in power. Call upon them. Hold them accountable. The more we speak, the more pressure builds. And perhaps, with the permission of Allah, their hearts will be turned. If not, then at least we will be able to stand on the Day of Judgment and say, "Ya Allah, I tried. I used the tools You gave me. I did my part."