Interesting Facebook and ego connected, you think?

[Mahzala]

Assalamu'alaykum,

So I was reading some pieces by Yasmin Mogahed earlier today and I came across the following:

... the danger of feeding the ego is that, as the ego is fed, it becomes strong. When it becomes strong, it begins to rule us. Soon we are no longer slaves to God, we become slaves to ourselves.

The ego is the part of us that loves power. It is the part that loves to be seen, recognised, praised and adored. Facebook provides a powerful platform for this. It provides a platform by which every word, picture or thought I have can be seen, praised and 'liked'. As a result, I begin to seek this. But then it doesn't just stay in cyber world. I begin even to live my life with this visibility in mind. Suddenly, I live every experience, every photo, every thought, as if it's being watched, because in the back of my mind I'm thinking" "I'll put it on Facebook". This creates a very interested state of being, almost a constant sense that I am living my daily life on display.

What do you think? Quite clearly, this too applies to other social platforms.

 

[Mabsoot]

wa alaykum salam,

By nature we want to share things, especially those things we care about or if it can help other. We have the choice not to share things too. Sometimes I feel like not coming on the internet at all, it would be very nice to take a long break somewhere with just nature and a simple life.

The way social media is used, varies between people, at one end there are those who take "selfies" everyday. Some especially bad, with the pouting "duck face". It reveals a few things about the person, that they most probably that they have a lack of self confidence, hence unable to keep a normal face - and a need to feel validated - where unfortunate people (mostly women) wait for comments. It might even be preceded with "I look so bad" + duck face photo. Maybe people make such photos because, well everyone else is doing so? Allahu a'lam.

Islamically, these are some of the issues people need to be aware of, that fall under the bad of social media.

 

[Mahzala]

But the nature of sharing itself has changed, no? Now, sharing is about acknowledgement, approval and dangerously, praise. All a desire of the ego. And these newfound ways change many things. Gone are the days where modesty was measured by shame, where intelligence was measured by humility and where love was measured by emotions. Modesty is now judged by appearance; intelligence by a voice so loud and love by the fulfillment of desires materialistic. Gone are the days where simplicity was an aspiration for many, where the unnecessary was eliminated to let the necessary be heard. Like you said, simplicity is not a goal, let alone a desire. These are merely attachments, unhealthy as they come, and almost a part of our survival. And if and when they are not in our reach, our ego is vulnerable, easily a target, and a source of great grief when it is not fed.

By the way, did you know, the word selfie, now a part of the Oxford Dictionary, is Australian? Written, and spoken, for the first time by an Australian blogger/forum member in 2007? Sure you know, it made it to Al Jazeera

 

[uniqueskates]

Assalaamualaikum.

Now, sharing is about acknowledgement, approval and dangerously, praise. All a desire of the ego.

Very true. In the end, knowingly or unknowingly we tend to fall for the same trap. My question here would be, what do I do to prevent myself from falling a prey for it, but in the meanwhile I wish to have my Facebook acc as well? How do I keep a check on my ego, my qalb?

I hardly post. And the only reason I post something over there is to share a little of what I read and also it becomes like a repository for me, whenever I need I can just scroll and see what were my previous posts and re-call/learn something from them. For me FB is a source of information, I learn new hadiths, new things on Islam and I don't wish to miss that.

So how do I balance?

Peace.