From a position paper arguing that Buddhist insights can help to improve the design of social networkings sites with new architectures that help in the cultivation of deeper and more long-lasting friendships. These slides were used at the 3rd World Conference on Buddhism and Science (section: Buddhism and Social Science), held 1-2 December BE2553 (2010 CE) at the College of Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Thailand.

1. 1-2 December 2010 3rd World Conference on Buddhism and Science 1
Supporting Kalyā amittatā Online:ṇ
New Architectures for Sustainable
Social Networking
Paul Trafford
Oxford, UK
paul.trafford@stx.oxon.org

2. 1-2 December 2010 3rd World Conference on Buddhism and Science 2
About these slides
These slides are based on those that I used for a presentation entitled:
Supporting Kalyā amittatā Online: New Architectures for Sustainable Socialṇ
Networking given at the 3rd
World Conference on Buddhism and Science (
http://www.wcbsthailand.com/ ) held 1-2 December 2010 at the College of
Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Thailand.
The slides are generally the same, except here I've inserted details of citations.
Note also that some words use diacritics and were authored with the Times Ext
Roman font.
The content is provided under the Creative Commons License 2.0 Attribution
2.0 Generic.
- Paul Trafford, Oxford.
(version 1.0s for Slideshare)

3. 1-2 December 2010 3rd World Conference on Buddhism and Science 3
Preface: School Friends
"Paul doesn't have many friends"Paul doesn't have many friends
but he hasbut he has goodgood friends.”friends.”
Teacher,Teacher,
Parents' Evening,Parents' Evening,
Hagley FirstHagley First
SchoolSchool
c.1977c.1977
Photo copyright © Hagley Community Association

4. 1-2 December 2010 3rd World Conference on Buddhism and Science 4
Overview of Presentation
1. Introduction
2. Approaches in Social Sciences: Well-being
3. Buddhist Architectures for Sustainable
Relationships Online
4. Conclusions

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Part 1: Introduction

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Background to this paper
Personal research context:
● Web2.0 research in UK Higher Education
● EDUCAUSE Blog post: On 'Friends' and
other associations
http://paultrafford.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/on-
friends-and-other-associations.html
(originally:
http://www.educause.edu/blog/pault/OnFriendsandotherassociations/167285

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Basic terminology:
Internet, Web and Social Networking
● Internet: federated [computer] network of
networks, evolved from ARPANET (1969)
● World Wide Web: Internet service based on
hypertext (1989)
● Social Networking: Internet services, especially
Web-based, for people to connect and share
● Social Networking Sites (SNS): Social networking
focused around a particular web site or service.
Examples:
Planetall.com (c. 1996); Facebook (2004)

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Facebook numbers: growth in usage
01/04 05/05 10/06 02/08 07/09 11/10
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Number of Facebook Users
(source: Facebook.com)
Date
No.ofusers(millions)

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Example of Facebook usage (page)

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More Facebook numbers: MHS page

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Problem of SNS: Poor Sustainability
● Evanescent nature and majority of online
communities don't even get off the ground.
● Major sites have become obsolete:
PlanetAll (1996-2000), Six Degrees (1997-2001) or
else receding from view (Friends Reunited); even
Google has not been so successful (Orkut, Buzz)
● What's become of friendship?
Many people are dissatisfied with Facebook
[e.g. National Unfriend Day, 17 November 2010]

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Part 2: Approaches in
Social Sciences: Well-being

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The changing meanings of 'social'
Alejandro Portes (in literature review of social
capital) [1998] observes:
● foundational work of 19th century sociologists,
particularly Émile Durkheim
● sense has broadened from small-scale individual
and family kinships to large-scale societies (cities,
nations etc)
Portes, A. 1998.Portes, A. 1998. Social Capital:Its Origins and Applications in Modern SociologySocial Capital:Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology. Annual Review of Sociology 24, 1-24. Annual Review of Sociology 24, 1-24

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Social Capital: Definition?
There is no standard definition, but following is
characteristic:
the aggregate of the actual or potential
resources which are linked to possession of
a durable network of more or less
institutionalized relationships of mutual
acquaintance or recognition
(Bourdieu 1980).
Bourdieu P. 1980. Le capital social: notes provisoires. Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales. L'École des
hautes études en sciences sociales.

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Well-being
Typically regarded as a subjective view of happiness.
Social dimension: short and long-term well-being:
Generally speaking, self-ratings of ‘happiness’
turn out to reflect relatively short-term, situation-
dependent expressions of mood, whereas self-
ratings of ‘life satisfaction’ appear to measure
longer-term, more stable evaluations
(Helliwell and Putnam 2004)
Helliwell, J.F., Putnam R.D. 2004. The social context of well-being. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society London: Biological Sciences 359, 1435-1446

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Well-being and Social Capital
Social capital identified as a key factor for social well-
being, but refinements needed:
● bonding social capital: "refers to the links between like-minded
people, or the reinforcement of homogeneity. It builds strong
ties, but can also result in higher walls excluding those who do not
qualify"
● bridging social capital: “refers to the building of connections
between heterogeneous groups; these are likely to be more
fragile, but more likely also to foster social inclusion"
(Schuller et al. 2000:10)
Baron, S. , Field, J., Schuller, T. (eds.). 2000. Social Capital. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

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Social Capital and Online Activity
● General Social Survey (nationally representative data on
Americans and their online discussion networks of close
confidants)
● GSS distinguishes between kinship and non-kinship
networks
● Comparative analysis [1985 c.f. 2004] (McPherson et al.
2006): reduction in strong ties indicate increased
loneliness
● Some dispute about results (e.g. Fischer 2009), but
authors maintain methodology is sound.
Fischer, C. S., 2009. The 2004 GSS Finding of Shrunken Social Networks: An Artifact? American Sociological
Review 74:4. 657-669.
McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin L., Brashears M. E., 2006. Social Isolation in America: Changes in Core Discussion
Networks over Two Decades American Sociological Review 71:3. American Sociological Association, 353-375.

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Facebook and Well-being
(1) Survey: College Students: Ellison et al (2007)
● useful measures of well-being, significant correlations
between life satisfaction and intensity of Facebook usage
● limited context: undergraduate students and predictors
based on evolving Facebook functionality
(2) Survey 2: Burke et al (2010)
● same approach, broader sample
● a positive relationship between directed communications
(i.e. where a user initiates some activity) and social capital
● Increased loneliness found with the most intense users
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. 2007. The benefits of Facebook "friends:" Social capital and college
students' use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12:4, article 1.
Burke, M., Marlow, C., Lento M. 2010. Social Network Activity and Social Well-Being. CHI 2010: Social Media
Users, April 10-15, 2010, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

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More clues: Ethnographic Observations
A more vivid picture of motivations.
Trinidadian culture (Daniel Miller 2010):
“important in galvanising the response to the
recent catastrophe of fellow Caribbeans in Haiti”
but:
exacerbating “a national characteristic leading
to the disorder of bacchanal”
Highlights issue of social ethics...
● but online ethics information-oriented.
Miller, D. 2010. `Fas’ book (Facebook) in Trinidad. Material World blog post, 7 February 2010. New York
University. http://blogs.nyu.edu/projects/materialworld/2010/02/fas_book_facebook_in_trinidad.html

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The Decline of Netiquette
Have we forgotten responsible behaviour online?
In general, rules of common courtesy for
interaction with people should be in force for
any situation and on the Internet it's doubly
important where, for example, body language
and tone of voice must be inferred.
(Hambridge, IETF, 1995)

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Part 3: Buddhist Architectures for
Sustainable Relationships Online

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Buddhism in the Social Sphere
Many works exist that offer applications of Buddhism to
the contemporary social context:
● Payutto, Bhikkhu P.A. 2007. Visions of the Dhamma, Wat Nyanavesakavan,
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
● Soni R.L. (revised Khantipalo). 1978. Life's Highest Blessings: The Maha
Mangala Sutta, translation and Commentary. WH 254. Buddhist Publication
Society, Kandy
● Mendis, P. 1994. Buddhist Economics and Community Development
Strategies Community Development Journal 29:4, OUP. 195-202
● Dhammakaya Foundation 2005. A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps Towards
Enlightened Living, Dhammakaya Foundation, Bangkok
Can apply to the online context similarly...

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Kalyā amittatā as true friendshipṇ
"Herein, Vyagghapajja, in whatsoever village or market
town a householder dwells, he associates, converses,
engages in discussions with householders or
householders' sons, whether young and highly cultured
or old and highly cultured, full of faith (saddha), full of
virtue (sila), full of charity (caga), full of wisdom (pañña).
He acts in accordance with the faith of the faithful, with
the virtue of the virtuous, with the charity of the
charitable, with the wisdom of the wise.”
[A iv 281, Narada trans.]

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Facebook's 1-Dimensional Friendship

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The Sigalovāda Sutta
● Context: Buddha's advice to Sigala, householder,
on personal conduct
● Distinguishes between true and false friends
● Has become de facto moral code for householder
in some Buddhist countries
● Classifies relationships into multiple types (6 in
all)
● Specifies different modes of conduct for each
type of relationship

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The Six Directions of Sigalovāda Sutta
Source: Dattajeevo, Bhikkhu P., (Methmanus, A., trans.) 2005. Man's Personal Transformation,
Dhammakaya Foundation, Bangkok [revised: Paul Trafford]

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The Sigalovāda Sutta (fragments)

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Schoyen Exhibition at Buddhamonthon

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Quality of Speech: Status Updates

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Status Updates Compared with Vaca Sutta
Status Updates
(Facebook, Twitter etc)
Vaca Sutta
Spoken at any time – encouraged Spoken at the right time
May or may not be spoken in truth –
guidance?
Spoken in truth
May be spoken with or without affection
– guidance?
Spoken affectionately
May or not be beneficial – guidance? Spoken beneficially
May or not be spoken with a mind of
good-will – guidance?
Spoken with a mind of good-will

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The Mind of Goodwill vs Worldly Affection
“Metta succeeds when it loves, and it fails when
it degenerates into worldly affection”
(Buddharakkhita 1989).
● wordly affection: tanhā-pema or rāga
● Visuddhimagga: rāga is the near enemy of
mettā [Vsm. IX.98]
● worldly affection is thus an obstacle to
building social welfare.

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Friendship cultivation is Gradual
● Mangala Sutta develops quality of mind (and
hence quality of friendship)
● Modern Commentary [Dattajeevo] describes
seven levels of association...
● Making a connection is only the first step...
● A relationship develops over time ...
Assertion: SNS can implement these aspects.
(maybe using AI techniques)

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A Change in Online Interaction
Connection paradigms can then evolve
From
● static objects, oriented around self, possession
and acquisition (“Have x friends, consume y apps,”
etc.)
To:
● dynamic process-oriented relationships whose
nature keeps changing and evolving

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Social Impact
● Multiple relationship types give more attention to
bridging social capital
● Infinite iterations or varied connections supported:
friends of friends, parents of parents (ancestry),
teachers of teachers (expert knowledge transfer),
etc.
● Iterations over types: parents of friends etc.
● Can scale right across human population

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Part 4: Conclusions

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Summary
● Social networking sites are growing in
significance, but currently design weaknesses limit
the benefits to society
● Buddhist teachings offer solutions to build longer-
term friendship online:
→ Guidance on virtuous behaviour
→ Multiple relationship types (supports greater
breadth of connections)
→ Guidance on true friendship (supports greater
depth of connections)

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Recommendations
● Further research.
● Recognise the need for a universal social
ethic and apply it to SNS
● Reconsider SNS architectures in light of the
Sigalovāda Sutta
● Build a prototype!
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Discussion
Any Questions?

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Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Dr. Gabriel Hanganu, for prompting
ethnographic reflections on online interactions, and to Prof.
Damien Keown, for encouragement in this particular line of
research. Thanks are also due to Phrabhavanaviriyakhun (Ven.
Dattajeevo) for granting permission to use the illustration of the Six
Directions of the Sigalovāda Sutta.
Finally, the author would like to thank the organisers of the
conference for kindly providing an opportunity to share these
thoughts and for financial assistance to attend the conference.