At some point in the past couple of years we have reached a tipping point where we are more concerned with documenting an event than experiencing it. Think about the last wedding you went to, or take a look across the crowd at an important moment at a sporting event. At each moment, there are phones everywhere recording away. In fact, it is impossible to host any kind of Islamic event without getting inundated with requests to record it, post it, and so on. Harvard Business Review ran an article by Daniel Gulati entitled, Stop Documenting, Start Experiencing - this is an article Ive come back to dozens of times and quoted in various khutbahs. One of the points raised in the article is that of psychological hoarding which I found incredibly fascinating in light of Surah Takathur. Gulati contends that we must choose between documenting and experiencing an event. And that with the advent of social media (likes, followers, and so on) and smartphones, that people are now more apt to want to show off the accumulation of what they have done - its almost as if there is more enjoyment in posting a picture of yourself at Niagara Falls and getting 20 likes than there is to simply stand there and viscerally enjoy it. Competition in [worldly] increase diverts you, until you visit the graveyeards [Surah Takathur]. This ayah is traditionally understood in regards to wealth, but it has general application. It can be competing with others in status or even kids competing with each other over who has a nicer toy. Social media has enabled a competition of experience. We want to post our highlights and show off what we have done. At a certain point were sometimes less concerned with how much our kids may be enjoying something as opposed to being able to point at a photo many years down the road and say - See! You had fun as a kid thanks to me! We have to stop thinking of experiences as a notch in the belt. Another imaginary internet point. Another highlight for others to like. True memories arent made with an Instagram filter. Theyre made with a sentiment that comes from the emotion of an actual experience. It is those moments that you think about from a long time ago that make you smile. (Fiqh of Social Media)
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 22:26:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015