People mourn in many different ways. I have noticed during the past few months how people have now moved their mourning to the social sphere.
Let me first go back. Funerals have been a gathering place for mourners to celebrate the life of an individual who had passed on. If you were unable to attend the physical funeral you were often saddened and you felt that you did not do right by the person who’s funeral it was. This last moment that you have to pay your respect was missed.
Especially if the person was close to you. In today’s rushed world we are often not able to attend every funeral of family and friends. Time is limited and there are also financial implications.
A while back I saw that families would register a domain and create a website with photos of the deceased family member sometimes with flowers all over the page.
I noticed the past few months that Facebook has become a place to pay your last respects to your friends, family and colleagues. The one place we are all coming together these days to share ideas and thoughts have also now become the place we go to share our last thoughts and feelings.
I was quite taken by the way people post messages to the person as if they will still log in online and read the messages. I think that this is a good way for everybody who know such a person to share their feelings openly.
When we get terrible news we often need an outlet and we do not know where to go or how to get that release. Facebook now offers us all an opportunity to for one last time, post to our beloveds Facebook wall.
This may not be what Facebook was created for, but I believe that having this outlet for grief could be of great value. I would recommend to the family to make sure that they have the account closed after a few months to help with the healing process.