This series highlights how Buddhism can enhance daily living. As Nichiren Daishonin says: “When the skies are clear, the ground is illuminated. Similarly, when one knows the Lotus Sutra, one understands the meaning of all worldly affairs.”[1]
A 21-year-old sat at his local SGI-USA center, conversing with a man in his mid-30s. Eager to learn from him, the man asked, “What concerns you most about the world today?”
The young man paused a moment. “How to socialize.”
His response reflects a sentiment common for many his age. Advancements in digital communication have dramatically transformed relationships over the last 20 years, with social media and smartphones dominating all aspects of people’s lives, particularly youth.[2] A 2024 Pew Research Poll found that 74% of adults under 30 regularly use at least five social media platforms.[3]
Technological advancements allow for quick contact with more people than ever but can also lead to isolation and harm. A recent Time magazine article reports that many young people feel pressures from social media to please and maintain face with swathes of people. This strains friendships and has been associated with increasing anxiety, depression and hopelessness among youth.[4]
Especially for Generation Z, those born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s, a social media-dominated world is all they’ve ever known. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated everyone’s dependence on digital communication and comfort in social isolation.
“We all isolated during the pandemic,” the young man continued, “but for us, those were our formative years. We didn’t learn how to socialize.”
“What can we do to address it?” asked the men’s division member.
“More things in person… team sports. Basketball. Really just create opportunities to connect.”
Listening intently, he responded: “Let’s pave the way, man. I’ll support you.”
The young man sought something more than the digital courtesies of emoji reactions, likes and comments; he yearned for meaningful human connections. That man’s gesture of talking face-to-face was a start for the young man in finding what he was seeking.
Restoring and Rejuvenating Connections
Meaningful relationships flourish through face-to-face interactions. Few would argue that a Zoom call could have the same impact as a heart-to-heart talk or that an exchange of silly memes could match laughing with your best friend until your gut hurts.
But beyond physical proximity, what makes an interaction truly meaningful?
The conversation between the men’s division member and young man approaches one answer. In their exchange, they discussed life without pretense and, guided by mutual respect, sought to learn from and inspire one another.
Ikeda Sensei discussed this in his 1991 lecture at Harvard University. He explored the idea of “soft power,” which seeks to engender change by speaking directly to people’s hearts.[5] He describes soft power as a means to “restore and rejuvenate” meaningful bonds “in a world where interpersonal relationships are becoming increasingly tenuous.”[6]
Crucial to this process, Sensei emphasizes, is a philosophical foundation to “strengthen and mobilize the spiritual resources of the individual.”[7] Specifically, a spirit of respect for the dignity of all life can foster mutual understanding, respect and inspiration. Relationships and encounters built on this foundation can provide benefit and meaning for all involved.
The heart of soft power pulses in the SGI’s culture of personal encouragement, home visits and discussion meetings. Each can create a space for people to exchange thoughts and feelings freely. One encounter—one heart-to-heart conversation—might be all a person needs to demolish the walls of loneliness and renew their hope in the world.
Just like that men’s division member did, imagine what could happen if we ditched the smartphone for a moment and struck up a conversation with a young person, learned from their worldview and kindled in both their hearts and ours a flame of life?
—Prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department
July 12, 2024, World Tribune, p. 9
References
- “The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 376. ↩︎
- See pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29627907/ <accessed June 26, 2024>. ↩︎
- See pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-social-media-use/ <accessed June 26, 2024>. ↩︎
- See time.com/6220033/social-media-teen-friendships-stress/ <accessed June 26, 2024>. ↩︎
- daisakuikeda.org/sub/events/archives/2011/sep/news-2011sep29-softpwr-20th-anniv.html <accessed June 26, 2024>. ↩︎
- My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, p. 135. ↩︎
- Ibid., p. 127. ↩︎
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