Author: M. Farahi Tujegi
A Study on the Role of the Media and Its Effects on the Identity of Muslims (Part 48)
Personal Damages of the Media
In the previous part, the types of media addiction and its symptoms were discussed. In this section, other personal harms of the media will be examined.
C: Unpleasant Consequences of Media Addiction
Media addiction has several harmful and unpleasant consequences, some of which are outlined below:
1. Loss of Life Capital
The most significant unpleasant consequence of media addiction is the waste of a person’s valuable life capital. Media addiction leads individuals to squander a substantial portion of their noble life— the most precious human capital—on watching television programs that may sometimes be unhelpful or even detrimental, or on aimlessly browsing cyberspace, wandering through various websites and social networks. Wasting this life capital on ineffective media usage is condemned in several ways:
– First: Life is regarded as the greatest and most important capital for a human being, incomparable to any other form of capital. If someone easily squanders this vital resource, they are truly foolish.
– Second: Life’s capital is one of Allah’s greatest blessings, and on the Day of Resurrection, people will be questioned about how they utilized this immense resource. If an individual squanders their life on purposeless media use and aimless surfing in cyberspace, they must be held accountable in the divine court of justice. As Allah says: ثُمَّ لَتُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ “Then on that day, all of you will be questioned about the blessings you have received.” (Surah At-Takasur: 8)
The implication of this verse is that on the Day of Resurrection, all of Allah’s blessings will be accounted for, and the more significant the blessing, the more rigorous the questioning will be. Since life is Allah’s greatest blessing, it will undoubtedly bear close scrutiny.
– Third: Wasting one’s life and spending it on non-targeted media use and virtual spaces is a clear example of dissipation, which is strongly condemned in religious teachings. The Holy Quran vehemently criticizes wastefulness and prohibits it; as it states: وَلا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ “And do not waste, for indeed, Allah does not like the wasteful.” (Surah Al-An’am: 141)
This verse is repeated twice in the Holy Quran and indicates that wastefulness is a major sin. The extravagant are hated by Allah, and the Lord of the Worlds expresses aversion to the spendthrifts. If Allah does not love someone and expresses hatred towards them, they will inevitably face divine punishment.
Elsewhere, Almighty Allah equates wasteful individuals with the brothers of Satan, demonstrating the gravity of the sin of dissipation. As Allah Almighty states: وَلا تُبَذِّرْ تَبْذِيرًا، إِنَّ الْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُوا إِخْوانَ الشَّيَاطِينِ وَكَانَ الشَّيْطَانُ لِرَبِّهِ كَفُورًا“And do not waste your resources, for indeed, the spendthrifts are the brothers of the devils, and the devil was ungrateful to his Lord.”
