Have you ever noticed if your religion uses social
media? And if so, how effective is
it? If you are a member of the Catholic
faith who needs to confess your sins, there’s now an app for that. If you are a member of the Russian Orthodox
Church and need to give up something for Lent, how about going without social media? As social media use changes and evolves,
religious organizations are starting to incorporate it to share messages and
build community.
Many religious groups are using social media to “brand”
their organizations. It affects all main
religions from Catholics to Buddhists, and especially evangelical churches that
are often using new social technologies.
Some churches tweet Easter messages or send emailed postcards for
upcoming services.
Facebook and Twitter are two of the most popular tools being
used, although many media platforms are used to communicate messages to
followers.
Apps are now being used to encourage confession and ease the
nervousness of not having to show up in person.
Some apps even allow users to earn religious points, although this may
not be endorsed by the church and is not typically reflective of religious
teachings.
Author Pauline Cheong, researched a large Chinese Buddhist
organization based in Taiwan. She found
that they use social media in multiple languages, have satellite television in
all continents of the world, their own digital radio stations and conduct
podcasts. Their coverage ranges from
Asia to the Americas and Africa.
Religious organizations find that using media tools requires
a lot of time and work. But this can
also lead to more members and build a sense of community.
I enjoy the social media that is produced by the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is
professionally done and distributes all sorts of information, video, articles,
conference messages, music, etc. When I
set up my Twitter account for this class, I was surprised to see that all the
General Authorities have Twitter accounts that I can follow if I choose
to. These are old men! They are in their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and are
actively using Twitter and Facebook, etc.
That seems pretty impressive to me, as I am half their age and struggle
with using some platforms. The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is very tech-savvy and in touch with modern
media technology. They too, have satellite television in many continents of the world, One of the things I
really like about the messages shared are that they are positive, promote good
things, and testify of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. 
I think it is interesting that General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints also have Twitter accounts. I do wonder though how often they themselves us them or if their secretaries/assistants are the primary users of their accounts.
ReplyDeleteThis is a awesome blog post! I didn't know there were certain apps to confess your sins. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe apps to confess sins kind of freaks me out...that means that someone could possible hack into the app and see what I've confessed. I think things like that should just be left for face to face communication. I agree with you, I love how the LDS church uses social media in a classy way.
ReplyDeleteWow not a lot of people think of religious organizations when focusing on the uses of social media. I also love the different accounts on Twitter ran by the leaders of the LDS church. Great post.
ReplyDelete