This series is based on our experience of running a school for over fifteen years and working with youths in the community for over two decades.
Unmonitored access to devices for socializing and entertainment
Children do not require cell phones to survive or thrive. Devices are designed to be extremely addictive. There is an astounding number of children in our community who have gone astray spiritually and will not become doctors, engineers or teachers and achieve their academic potential due to the time they spend on devices for entertainment and socializing. Some of the most common scenarios we have observed are:
1. The child is doing well spiritually and academically until middle school when he/she convinces parents with the argument that all of his/her friends also have a device. Parents eventually surrender, solve the temporary issue of the child being unhappy but open doors to infinite conduits to Haram for the child and end up dealing with numerous serious issues.
2. A significant number of parents incorrectly believe that their children are the exception and will never misuse devices. They believe that their children are studying at night with the help of devices, they are only socializing with trustworthy friends in an appropriate manner, and they have developed the intellect and morals to make right decisions. In a vast majority of cases, they regret these incorrect assumptions later, but it is usually too late.
3. Some (very few) children are able to resist overtly inappropriate content and socializing, however, the plethora of ideologies and ‘isms’ available through devices still flood their minds and cause great confusion and harmful changes in their perspectives.
4. Addiction to seemingly harmless content still ends up taking valuable time. In most cases, once children are addicted to using devices for entertainment, they eventually graduate from appropriate content to inappropriate content.
5. Due to exposure to Haram through devices, children develop two personalities; one for parents, mosque and the community and the other on social media and chat groups with their friends. The reconciliation of these two personalities typically occurs in high school or university years and parents are shocked at the seemingly sudden change in their children.
We strongly discourage parents from giving personal devices or allowing unmonitored access to any device until the child graduates from high school. An increasing number of families in the community are choosing not to poison the souls and minds of their children through devices and these children are excelling spiritually, academically and professionally Allhumdolillah.
The best way to address an addiction is not to acquire it. The time to make the right decision is now, not, when it is too late. May Allah give us the strength to make the right choices, irrespective of what others around us may choose.
