Dalai Lama joins Instagram: ‘Welcome to the official Account of His Holiness’

The social media savvy religious leader signs up to the image sharing site

Let it be said – the Dalai Lama knows a thing or two about social media.

The savvy religious figure joined Twitter in 2010, years ahead of Pope Benedict’s first foray into the internet unknown.

Now, the forward-thinking Tibetan leader has joined Instagram, where he will share images of his travels around the world.

‘Welcome to the official Instagram Account of the Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’, the tagline reads.

It seems his first ever photograph - speaking to students in an arm chair at the Step by Step School in Noida, LCR, India – was actually posted on 31 January.

But’s its only today that His Holiness has publicised the account using the best possible method for spreading the word in the modern world – Twitter:

He’s already notched up 5,600 followers and counting (though still a way off his 8.5million followers on Twitter) thanks in part to tagged pictures of Barack Obama and Larry King.

But could there be a small conflict of interest between the message he seeks to share and the negative effects social media has been shown to have on a person’s happiness?

“It depends on how you use [social media methods],” he said during a recent interview with Time magazine.

“If the person, himself or herself, has a certain inner strength, a certain confidence, then it is no problem.

“But if an individual’s mind is weak, then there is more confusion. You can’t blame technology. It depends on the user of the technology.”

Are the selfies set to follow, we wonder? We’ll be eagerly awaiting further updates to find out.

Follow him here.