Your circle of influence ENVIRONMENT Your circle of influence

en·vi·ron·ment The surroundings or conditions in which a person,... lives or operates. synonym: habitat, territory, domain; surroundings

Why? Our beloved, Muhammed (SAW) said in an authentic Hadith: “No one is born except upon natural instinct, then his parents turn him into a Jew or Christian or Magian. As an animals produces their young with perfect limbs, do you see anything defective?” it makes us who we are Personality Behavioral patterns Mental patterns pessimistic optimistic

Our Circle of Influence Neighborhood Family Peers School Community Social Media

It’s Contribution to you? Identity or lack of normative behaviors Values Ethics Outlook to life …. White board: positive negative contribution to you.

Our goal as youth workers? Recognize that the young brother/sister in front of you is dealing with various circles of influence. Try and make positive connections between them. Navigate through the negative aspects of them and minimize the harm. creating positive outlets and opportunities for them to grow & develop. Be observant: recognize the situations Between them and their environment Resources, spent time with them

The older you become, the harder it is for you to change The older you become, the harder it is for you to change. This is why the time of youth is very important. It’s the time of great influence.

Family Types of Families? Relationships Development Pressure/stress In the family From the family What is its importance? core of the society in gereral White Board: cycle of family.

Peers Spend most of your time with Shared thoughts feelings (common ground) Forged paths Experiences Direction of life Final destination Outlook to life. Ibn Hazm stated: “Anyone who cares about your friendship is willing to criticize you, while those who make light of your faults show they do not care.” perfume-seller and a blacksmith: If your family shaped you, then your peers can pull you in different directions

Peers cont’d. “Accept me for who I am, don’t judge me.” The “YOLO” Culture

Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods Cont’d “burbs” vs “hood” Responsibilities Security & safety Ethnic Factors Economic status Social networks Maintained or neglected Friendship network recreation Role expectations Behavioral practices Ideologies Rites of passage.

Community Local leaders Family networks The “spots” Imams Teachers are families connected, is there an actual sense of community? The “spots” Gym etc Park Community centers

Schools

Schools

Schools Structural features Security Social Process Outlets, or lack there of Behavioral practices Peer pressure Rites of passage Clicks/crew etc Education Things they learn that are against Islamic Values. Standards & Quality Access to a new world Body image & beauty Moral compass is challenged Dating game Recreational Drugs Parties gender relations mixing gay Student-teacher relationship Assimilation forced to conform Discrimination & bullying MUST keep up to date

Social Media

By the Numbers 72% of teens have a social networking profile and nearly half (47%) have a public profile viewable by anyone. 38% of Facebook users in the last year were under 13 yrs old 22% of teenagers log on to their favorite social media site more than 10 times a day. 59% of teens perceive that public blogs or social networking sites are unsafe 76% of teens are at least somewhat concerned that posting information publicly could negatively impact future.

Social Media Human Interaction Dual Personality. Inappropriate content Scale text messaging and social media has replaced note-passing, but on a much larger scale.