Home Institution
Macalester College
Publication Date
Fall 2022
Abstract
When I first heard about His Eminence the 8th Chokyong Palga Rinpoche, I didn’t expect to find an Instagram page consisting of gym pics and sunglass selfies. As I kept scrolling through Instagram, I soon found out that Palga Rinpoche is not alone in this influencer-like social media façade; he is a part of a younger generation of Buddhist monastics who are trying to be what some call monkfluencers. These monastics are growing up in the digital world of social media, making it more accessible to share with the outside world the #monklife. My goal is to investigate the relationship between Buddhism and social media and why some members of this religious life decided to pursue a social media persona, specifically on Instagram. By using prior academic research and the perceptions I gathered from monastic and non-monastic Buddhists, I will determine whether the digital world has space for these monkfluencers.
Disciplines
Asian Studies | Buddhist Studies | Civic and Community Engagement | International and Intercultural Communication | Social Influence and Political Communication | Social Media
Recommended Citation
Barney, Solveigh, "The Rinpoche Sent me a Friend Request: The Roles and Perceptions of Social Media in Buddhist Religious Life" (2022). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 3568.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/3568
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Buddhist Studies Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Media Commons
Program Name
Nepal: Tibetan and Himalayan Peoples