Social Media Offers New Ways to Express Grief

Grief over the death of a loved one is a very personal experience. Everyone grieves in their own way, and the amount of time required to come to terms with what has happened also varies considerably. With that said, the introduction of social media into popular culture presents people with new ways to express grief.

Credit: pixabay.com

Platforms like Twitter and Facebook offer a public space where people dealing with the death of a loved one can instantly express their thoughts and emotions. For many, the internet veil offers a comfortable buffer between themselves and their audience.

Furthermore, unlike in-the-moment conversations, social media posts give people an opportunity to reflect on what they want to say. They can construct their posts very carefully, so the posts accurately reflect how they feel. People can be as detailed or as pithy as they’d like to be, yet still communicate their thoughts and feelings.

A few new ways to express grief on social media include:

• Posting a simple notice that your loved one has died
• Creating and sharing a photo album that chronicles your loved one’s life
• Recording and sharing a video of the memorial service for those who couldn’t attend.

In this sense, social media is often beneficial for those who may be shy or reluctant to verbally express themselves. Social media also makes it possible for them to share information regarding their loved one to a much wider audience.

Credit: pixabay.com

Potential For Misunderstanding

As Claire Wilmot writes in her personal piece, “The Space Between Mourning and Grief,” social media may also have an unintended negative effect on people dealing with grief. After her sister died, Wilmot writes, “It was as though an online community felt the need to claim a stake in her death, through syrupy posts that profoundly misrepresented who she was and sanitized what had happened to her.”

Clearly, social media offers us a public window in which we can display our emotions. However, this window also offers others a chance to share their feelings and sympathies, which may make our pain worse. Your friends on social media (some of whom you probably haven’t seen in years) may try to be supportive in offering their condolences and well wishes. Yet, these may come across as flippant or insincere.

If you have lost a loved one, use discretion in deciding whether you’d like to post something about them on social media. While social media offers new ways to express grief, it can potentially cause you more pain. When you post, be prepared for an outpouring of support and condolences, some of which may be in the form of clichés and platitudes. These may serve to undermine the seriousness of your loss.