One interesting way that Buddhists have adapted to new media
is by using social networking sites such as twitter. The Dalai Lama joined twitter back in 2010 as
a way to connect with his followers. There had been a twitter account for the
Dalai Lama even before 2010 but it was eventually discovered to be an impostor.
The Dalai Lama is the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism and is also known as
His Holiness. Having a twitter is a great way for the Dalai Lama to maintain
his authority in the Buddhist community by directly spreading his wisdom to his
followers. As of today the Dalai Lama has 722 tweets and over 3.6 million
followers. His tweets mainly consist of
words of wisdom such as “We have to put effort into being honest, truthful and compassionate
towards others,” but he also uses twitter to post pictures of his recent endeavors
and to post reminders of events he will be attending. In using social media, the
Dalai Lama is able to reach far more people and in a more personal manner.
People can receive tweets anywhere they go on their computer and their phones
and in having a twitter account the Dalai Lama can connect with Buddhists all
over the world at any time. By participating in new media, the Dalai Lama affords
people who have never had the before had the opportunity to be able to connect
with His Holiness.
Link to the Dalai Lama's twitter account:
http://twitter.com/#!/DalaiLama
Link to news article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/7364852/Dalai-Lama-joins-Twitter-to-spread-the-word-of-peace.html 