In an era where technology is rapidly advancing, and globalization is intertwining various aspects of life, social media platforms have emerged as key players in shaping behaviors and consumer preferences globally, especially among the youth. Over time, these platforms have evolved from mere tools for communication and entertainment to powerful instruments of influence and marketing, significantly reinforcing consumer culture among individuals in their twenties and thirties.

Social media plays a crucial role in shaping the behaviors and consumer tendencies of today's youth. According to a study conducted by eMarketer (a company specializing in internet market research) in 2023, 85% of young people use social media on a daily basis.

Furthermore, a report by Statista, a company specializing in market and consumer data, indicated that the number of social media users worldwide exceeded 3.8 billion in 2021. This has made social media a primary driver of youth behavior and has facilitated easy access to user opinions and experiences with various products and services.

This influence affects purchasing decisions and contributes to the spread of consumer culture, as social media increasingly impacts youth desires and tendencies, encouraging their consumer inclinations through advertisements and content related to products and brands.

Social Pressure

In response to this, young people are greatly influenced by these desires, often resorting to purchasing and consuming even when they have no real need, driven by the social pressure exerted by social media, which places external appearances as a top priority.

In this context, recent statistics indicate that a significant portion of consumers—around 54%—are influenced by social media content in their purchasing decisions, according to a report issued by the Pew Research Center in 2021.

Additionally, a study conducted by Nielsen (a market research company) in 2020 revealed that 49% of consumers trust recommendations they receive through social media platforms. This aligns with a report from eMarketer, which noted that the number of social media users worldwide reached 4.33 billion in 2023, with 54% of them using these platforms to search for new products and services.

The same report highlighted that young people are the most affected age group by advertisements on social media, emphasizing the psychological and intellectual influence on this particular demographic globally, especially in the Arab world.

Advertising products and services through social media is one of the most impactful forms of advertising on youth globally. This is reflected in the average amount of time they spend on these platforms, which is 3.7 hours per day, according to Hootsuite (a company specializing in social media management).

Arab Youth

The situation is no less impactful than its global counterpart. A study conducted by the Gulf Research Institute in 2022 revealed that 60% of Arab youth consider social media a primary source of information about products and services.

Additionally, a study conducted by Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia in 2021 found that 70% of young people rely on social media for research and consultation before making purchases.

“Influencers” are one of the main factors contributing to this significant influence of social media on the youth. They possess the ability to change consumer preferences and guide them toward specific products.

Hootsuite reported that 73% of influencers are effective marketing tools for brands, and product manufacturers already utilize them for promotional purposes.

Targeted advertising for various youth segments plays a significant role in reinforcing consumer culture, as companies use big data to direct advertisements precisely to the appropriate audience.

In this regard, a study published by Forbes magazine in 2021 indicated that 67% of users feel that advertisements on social media influence their purchasing choices.

With the increasing reliance on online shopping, a survey conducted by The Economist in 2022 found that 85% of consumers prefer to shop online after seeing products on social media.

Of course, this influence does not come without its negative aspects. A study published by the Journal of Social Sciences in 2023 found that excessive exposure to advertisements and marketing content can lead to “increased social pressure” to possess the latest goods and services. This contributes to excessive consumer culture that often surpasses individuals' actual needs.

Consequently, social media has become a “facilitator” for addiction that is no less dangerous than drug addiction, whether in terms of psychological or financial impact, according to the aforementioned studies.

Thus, there is an urgent need to raise consumer awareness, particularly among the youth, and encourage them to adopt conscious and responsible consumption. Achieving this can only be accomplished by instilling “non-material” values in their hearts and minds and challenging the culture of appearances reinforced by social media.

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A twenty-year-old university student might have provoked her classmates by posting photos of some expensive perfumes from a renowned global brand on a youth-oriented social media site, captioning the images as “a simple gift from my dad.” The girl's father, who works in one of the Gulf countries known as a hub for shopping and global brands in the Arab region, has a habit of compensating for his absence with such lavish gifts.

The striking part of the story is not only the bragging about these products on social media but also the girl's description of these expensive items as “simple,” despite studying at a free public university where most of her friends belong to the working class. What drives this display of wealth and the attempt to present oneself as part of the 1% elite who view such brands as mere trifles?

While the previous story may seem somewhat audacious in its attempt to cross class boundaries and aspire to the upper society, the obsession with belonging to the wealthy class through wearing clothes, perfumes, watches, and handbags bearing global brands raises many questions about the psychological motivations behind this behavior. This phenomenon is not confined to young people with little experience in life. When a famous political writer with thousands of followers posts a picture of himself, commenting that his shoes and bag are from such-and-such a global brand, it undoubtedly warrants investigation into this obsession with global brands. Are there underlying psychological issues, or is it a manifestation of capitulation to the capitalist market culture that glorifies consumption and idolizes brands?

Capitalist Happiness

Some people are drawn to buying branded products because they trust the excellent materials used and the small, comfortable details associated with them. They see it as an investment in a high-quality product, even if it is expensive, and many of these individuals make purchases during sales and discounts rather than at the peak of the shopping season.

However, other wealthy young people, whose families are accustomed to buying global brands at any time, have developed a habit and culture of purchasing whatever they desire, regardless of price or need. This category of young people lacks significant life projects; their only concerns revolve around personal enjoyment and flaunting among peers, intertwined with the fever of shopping and consumption.

A large segment of middle-class youth, in all its degrees, shares with the wealthy youth the absence of major life projects, seeking the pleasure of shopping for global brands. However, they lack the necessary funds, so some spend half their salary or more on shopping. Some children exert significant pressure on parents who cannot afford to shop from these brands. Even young people from poor classes, who do not have major issues occupying their minds, seek out counterfeit brands that are much cheaper but closely resemble the original ones and bear the same logos.

One can argue that the pursuit of happiness is a major driving force in this issue. The shopping experience stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain, leading to feelings of happiness. Some even resort to shopping when they feel sad. According to a study published in the Journal of Psychology and Marketing, shopping induces a euphoria similar to that felt by drug addicts! But like drugs, this happiness is temporary and momentary, losing its effectiveness with repetition. Furthermore, the financial pressures experienced by non-wealthy individuals diminish the joy and happiness that shopping brings.

The pursuit of happiness through buying expensive products is a substitute for the absence of grand ideas that occupy young people's minds. Instead of striving for the liberation of the Ummah from subtle occupation to achieve its true place among nations, which global capitalism fears and seeks to obscure through various forms of temptation, young people remain absorbed in temporary pleasures like shopping for brands.

This pursuit is a manufactured goal. Capitalism has the power to create goals, given that humans cannot live without them. So, a goal is created for them to chase and find enjoyment in achieving some of it. Capitalism has long and sharp tentacles that wrap around young people, as the obsession with brands involves celebrities, fashion houses, and marketing companies that use psychological tools. They even study research conducted on drug addicts to use in fostering addiction to shopping and consumption.

Appreciation and Confidence

Another psychological driver behind young people's obsession and addiction to shopping for branded products is the quest for peer appreciation, as demonstrated by the twenty-year-old student mentioned earlier. The clear truth expressed by young people is their desire for distinction, achieved through flaunting or imitation to gain societal recognition and peer appreciation. Consuming branded products is the shortcut for these young people to gain confidence, which derives from the price of what they wear or use. Thus, their value seems to stem from the price of the item, and the individual's worth is tied to the product's price.

This commodification of individuals is both a cause and an effect. It drives young people to chase brands to have a visible presence in this world that judges people by the value of what they own. It's a result of repeated practices of this consumption pattern and the consequent feelings of confidence and satisfaction, reinforcing neural connections in the brain that make this commodification seem like an existential reality.

Recovery and Liberation

If appearance is the primary identifier of a person's identity before they even speak, it is absurd to say that it is unimportant. However, when appearance becomes the foremost goal that a person pursues, it undermines all noble meanings of life. Buying a product for its quality, within one's financial means, and without extravagance is permissible. But being enslaved by brands run by transnational corporations that control the world through the economic gateway is a spiritual ailment that must be addressed. The path to liberation from this enslavement is awareness of our major causes, foremost among them the Palestinian cause.

This liberation provides young people with vast and profound areas of life they had not realized existed before. It grants them confidence in their capabilities and allows them to see themselves beyond the dwarfing perspective that drives them to seek confidence and appreciation through excessive consumption.

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More than 210 million people worldwide are affected by addiction annually, according to the World Health Organization. The organization's statistics also reveal that 15.3 million people suffer from diseases due to drug abuse, and nearly 200,000 of them die each year.

However, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) presents alarming figures showing that around 275 million people used drugs at least once globally in 2016, with 450,000 people dying as a result. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) indicates that the percentage of drug addicts in the Arab world ranges between 7-10%, with most addicts being young people.

For example, the number of drug users in Egypt has risen to about 10% of the population, in Sudan, there are 6 million addicts, in Algeria over 300,000, a similar rate in Tunisia, while in Saudi Arabia there are 200,000, in Kuwait over 40,000, in Lebanon 24,000, and in Oman 5,000 addicts, according to statistics from international, governmental, and non-governmental organizations.

The true crisis lies in the lack of accurate statistics on the number of addicts in the Arab world, as the announced figures are based on the number of people arrested for drug use, which does not reflect the real number; because the families of addicts remain socially embarrassed to report their children, which means the numbers and estimates are likely more.

Interestingly, the American Institute “NIDA” recorded that about 70% of addicts started using drugs in their teenage years, which means we are facing a bigger problem that goes beyond the boundaries and causes of the disease; the roots of this problem run deep in the soil of spiritual emptiness that our youth suffer from. How can we blame a young person who has not tasted the sweetness of faith and has not felt the pleasure of closeness to Allah for seeking refuge in the dark world of drugs, even if it is illusory?

The real reason behind the psychological distress that drives many to the abyss of addiction is the distance from the path of Allah, while some who claim modernity and progress promote the idea that drug use is a form of personal freedom, and some even call for its legal allowance, as some European countries do.

Here, we ask: What kind of freedom makes a person a prisoner to a chemical substance that takes away his mind and will? When were the laws of Europe and America the reference for the Islamic Ummah?! Islam, with its divine methodology, forbade everything that affects the mind, considering that preserving it is one of the five objectives of Sharia; hence the Prophet ﷺ said, “Every intoxicant is prohibited.” (Narrated by Muslim)

Moreover, how many movies or TV series depict drug use as a sign of sophistication and civilization! How many electronic platforms have facilitated the connection between dealers and victims! Therefore, as Muslim societies, we must stand united against this cultural invasion that targets our values and morals.

The harsh social and economic realities in many Arab and Islamic countries provide fertile ground for some youth to escape their reality through drug use or in search of quick solutions to their psychological and social problems, which cannot be treated merely by providing material treatment programs that address the symptoms and ignore the root cause.

We cannot effectively combat addiction among our youth without addressing the psychological and social sources that drive them to escape to drugs and intoxicants, which is linked to improving these youths' lives in all their relationship networks, especially their relationship with their God, which is the only way to face life's pressures and difficulties instead of escaping them.

This meaning is pointed out in the Quran when describing the prayer, which is not just physical movements but a connection of the soul with its Creator, giving the believer tranquility and peace; “Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.” (Ar-Ra'd: 28) If we taught our youth their acts of worship with this understanding, none of them would find spiritual emptiness.

Addiction has unfortunately turned into a plague in many Islamic countries, and there is no way to escape it merely by enacting strict laws, important as they are. The solution lies in rebuilding the youth from within, reconciling them with the values of their religion, and opening new horizons for them for work, creativity, and marriage.

Where is the role of the Muslim family in protecting their children? Where is that faith-based upbringing that instills in our children the religious and moral deterrent? The Prophet ﷺ warned us against neglecting this great duty by saying: “All of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards.” (Agreed upon)

A comprehensive approach in dealing with addiction cases, combining medical and psychological treatment on one hand, and spiritual and moral rehabilitation on the other, is the way to rescue the body of our nation from this cancer. An addict is not just a body needing treatment, but a human being with a soul that needs the nourishment of faith and the warmth of mercy.

Let us start a campaign to combat the cancer of addiction based on this principle, for the path to happiness in both worlds does not pass through the illusions of drugs, but through faith in Allah and righteous deeds, and feeling the sweetness of closeness to the Creator of the soul.

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