ABSTRACT
This chapter has used MySpace and Face book profile data to show that the more time one spends on the Internet, and in particular on social networking sites, the more likely one is to have an affinity for Buddhism. The computer is substantially different from any other tool that we use because it is able to process information in a way that can appear to be very like the way a human being processes and analyzes data. Metzinger points out that the integration of variegated sensual stimuli into one coherent mental image of the world and the body's place within it is crucial for the construction of a sense of self. The analysis of the interests that were cited in the North American Face-book profiles showed once again that people in this kind of online environment appear to be far more interested in Buddhism than one would expect based upon knowledge of the general patterns of offline religious affiliation.
