SOCIAL MEDIA AND RISE OF SPIRITUALITY IN INDIA: A MCLUHAN’S APPROACH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i1.2024.2863Keywords:
Mcluhan's Media Theory, Global Village Concept, Digital Spirituality, Spiritual Branding, - Spiritual Consumerism, Media and Interconnectedness, Spiritual Marketing Strategies, Global Spiritual MovementsAbstract [English]
This paper critically analyses social media's impact on spirituality in India, using Marshall McLuhan’s media theories as a framework. It explores how platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have transformed the dissemination of spiritual teachings, enabling spiritual leaders to reach a global audience and create interactive communities that transcend geographic boundaries. Drawing on McLuhan’s concepts of "the medium is the message" and the "global village," the study delves into how digital media technologies mediate spiritual practices, commodify religious experiences, and give rise to a form of "spiritual branding" that merges tradition with contemporary consumer culture. Additionally, the paper investigates subcategories such as spiritual consumerism, digital spirituality, spiritual marketing strategies, and the commercialization of spirituality, highlighting how Indian spiritual leaders leverage social media to promote their teachings and products associated with their practices. This fusion of spiritual messages with marketing strategies underscores the evolving landscape of spirituality in the digital era, positioning spiritual content as a consumable product and a vehicle for socio-cultural influence in a globalized, interconnected world.
The paper has been written using content analysis as a research tool. A systematic and in-depth analysis of social media posts from prominent Indian spiritual leaders has provided structured insights into the types of spiritual content that resonate most with online audiences.
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