Generasi TikTok dan Krisis Kedalaman Membaca Al-Qur’an: Kritik Neil Postman terhadap Pembelajaran Tafsir Digital

The rise of TikTok has changed how young Muslims encounter the Qur’an and its exegesis. This article analyzes digital tafsir learning on short-video platforms through Neil Postman’s media criticism and draws out its implications for depth in reading the Qur’an. The study employs a qualitative library research design with critical-conceptual analysis. Data comprise Postman’s primary works, classical texts on Qur’anic sciences and the etiquette of those who carry the Qur’an, and journal articles and books published between 2015 and 2026 on digital tafsir, online religious authority, and digital reading. The analysis applies four Postmanian lenses: the medium as epistemology, discontinuity (“Now… this”), entertainment as a dominant metaphor, and the transformation of religiosity by the medium. Four findings emerge: (1) verses tend to be detached from their surah context, occasions of revelation, and exegetical tradition; (2) authority shifts from chains of transmission and disciplined scholarship toward algorithmic reach and personal appeal; (3) tafsir is often packaged as motivational “edutainment,” which makes it vulnerable to instrumentalization and commodification; and (4) evidence on short-form video use and digital reading points to risks for sustained attention, although effects depend on patterns of use. Postman’s critique should be read in a balanced way, because digital platforms also widen access and allow the exegetical tradition to appear in new formats. The article proposes a framework of “depth-oriented tafsir learning” that treats short videos as a gateway rather than a destination and emphasizes restoring context, slow reading, traceable sources, and media literacy. Its novelty lies in integrating Postman’s media epistemology, research on deep reading, and the pedagogical design of tafsir education.