Sri Lankan Influencer Monks: Conflict and Intolerance on Social Media
Social media platforms define incentives for influencers through algorithmic manipulation of content promotion. In Sri Lanka, these incentives create complications for Buddhist monk influencers, who occupy a nationally specific nexus between religion, media, and government. Social media create new d...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
|
| In: |
Journal of religion, media and digital culture
Year: 2025, Volume: 14, Issue: 3, Pages: 344-386 |
| Further subjects: | B
monastic discipline
B sentiment B Buddhism B Social media B Commitment B platforms |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Social media platforms define incentives for influencers through algorithmic manipulation of content promotion. In Sri Lanka, these incentives create complications for Buddhist monk influencers, who occupy a nationally specific nexus between religion, media, and government. Social media create new domains for religious communication without the protections afforded to Buddhism by state-controlled media, but the demands of influencer practice create hazards for monastic discipline. These observations are substantiated by examining a set of social media interactions between Buddhist monks and other influencers. A common outcome of these interactions is that non-Buddhists, Buddhist laity, and monks whose social media expressions are deemed by government authorities to be insufficiently orthodox face detention under religious protection laws. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2165-9214 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion, media and digital culture
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/21659214-bja10139 |
