Grief in the Digital Age

Grief in the Digital Age
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Introduction
Social networking is increasingly becoming a popular avenue for people to interact courtesy of the information technology that is supported and sustained in various parts of the globe. Virtual communities bring together individuals from contrasting lifestyles and backgrounds for entertainment, sharing knowledge, and contributing to dialogs. Perhaps a fundamental impact of the new digital media is its ability to transform how people grieve and mourn. Through online grief communities to social media sites, mourners have been given a platform to process grief and to memorize and maintain a connection with the loved ones. For example, Facebook is emerging as perhaps the most influential hubs for the bereaved in recent years. This is because it commands the influence of 350 million users and 100 million who use My Space. It must be noted, a significant number of these users use this platform to commemorate the death of their loved ones (Carroll & Landry, 2010). Both public and private communication are increasingly prevalent among those in mourning, from private messages to public posts. Users are given an outlet to express personal emotions and messages, whether with the dead or with individuals that are overcome by grief.
Literature Review
Grief & Mourning in Today’s Society
The literature on grief in the digital age indicates that Facebook is not only an online opportunity for the living to connect; it is also a virtual space to engage, remember, and honor the deceased (McEwan et al.

, 2013). Whereas traditional mourning practices and ritualistic memorials typically happen at the location of accidents or in cemeteries, memorial pages on Facebook provide an alternative avenue to mourn that is equipped with archival abilities and its collective nature and openness to members of the public. Roadside gravesites, cemeteries, and burial sites have given people the opportunity for visitation. It is common to tour gravesites to leave flowers, letters or sentimental items to maintain a connection to a loved one. However, with the advent of the Internet, online communities and virtual memorials have become more common among the bereaved.
Public and private mourning is discussed in the relevant literature. Personal communication and memories in the online realm are open to the public and usually made up of direct messages to the deceased. As such, the dead are perpetually alive in a digital state of communications otherwise known as ‘’limbo’’ and never really die as a result of the ever-interactions with the living. Research asserts that those sharing the burden of the loss of the loved ones usually enjoy reading posts from friends and family members. The fact that Facebook has continuously permeated the lives of users makes it a likely avenue for people to project issues that affect their lives including marriages, deaths, and even new births (Brubaker et al., 2013). These digital posts and memories present a different perspective, revealing new information, learning about experiences or stories not known or heard before. The immediacy of posting comments helps the subjects to better deal with loss and further aids in the reconstruction of life. The more people communicate with the loved ones, the more they are likely to overcome this grief. Further findings show that the frequency of communication declined over time; however, there was the consistency of a continued bond with the person as a result of these social media posts, polls, and feeds (McEwan et al., 2013).
The outstanding controversy is the issue of public communications with the deceased on social networking like Facebook and Twitter which both have a high traffic of users. While virtual memorials play a central role in the process of grief, research shows far-reaching implications on the identity of the deceased and those in grief. Negative posts and comments disrupt the grieving process and affect the people closest to the deceased in emotional and psychological ways. Also, there is evidence to suggest that these types of pages attract online trolls and spam advertising; though, it is worth mentioning that Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest have been modifying terms and conditions lately (McEwan and Scheaffer, 2013). For example, new developments by Facebook is to provide better user privacy where individuals can restrict their followers from viewing or even commenting on their personal private pages, threads, or communities. Also, the terms and conditions have improved to allow for user discretion, permit or consent to access specific or filtered content, posts, and feeds. Despite these transgressions, mourning the loss of a loved one via social media has positive endings, including the freedom of speech and self-expression at a person’s convenience. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity for those from far to extend gratitude and appreciation via digital touches. Even further grieving via digitized channels connects people, forming a community that exists on a platform that seals the physical gap that isolates these people in the real world.
In-depth analysis of the benefits of online commemoration is required to better understand and appreciate the deep-seated effect of digital grief on participants. Virtual memorializing depicts a rising and popular trend and pattern of social practices upheld by computer networks and cultural transformations. It is crucial to identify whether the practices employed in digital mourning are beneficial and if they bring closer the bereaving families. There is insufficient scholarly material on the positive impacts of online memorializing which creates a gap in the understanding of the topics in disciplines like cultural studies, communication, and the effect of digital media on users’ psychology. As such, it is crucial to note the benefits online grieving offer as opposed to traditional methods of dealing with death.
Facebook provides users, via policies and features, an avenue for the deceased member to engage with a virtual society for social support. Other than the ability to create an online poll for a given timeline or date Facebook and Twitter handle and hashtags extend options of highlighting key events such as memorial services and burial arrangements. Online networking sites allow users to perform front-stage mourning practices despite the geographical location. These networking channels provide a continuous online connection with the bereaved through the posting of pictures, memorials, and linking with new and close friends. The mental condition associated with this kind of engagement demands additional analysis and exploration based on the findings of present research. The policies of social media use to determine and constrain the mourning and grieving, and this framework is a process driven exercise directed to all Internet users (McEwan et al., 2013). This literature review hence contends that of all consulted sources, it is clear that funerals, wakes, memorial services, and burials are real means of paying respect to the dead. And with the advent of the internet, online communities and virtual memorials are becoming common ground among the bereaved. This is so, particularly to active Internet users.
ReferencesBrubaker, J., Hayes, G. & Dourish, P. (2013). Beyond the Grave: Facebook as a Site for the Expansion of Death and Mourning. The Information Society, 29, 152-163.
Carroll, B. & Landry, K. (2010). Logging On and Letting Out: Using Online Social Networks to Grieve and to Mourn. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30, 341-349.
McEwan, R. and Scheaffer, K. (2013). Virtual Mourning and Memory Construction on Facebook: Here Are the Terms of Use. Bulletin of Science, Technology, and Society.