Mourning with social media: Rewiring grief

Pages:371-375
Vani Kakar (National University of Educational Planning and Administration, NCERT Campus, Hauz Khas, New Delhi)
Nanki Oberoi (The Bitty Oberoi Foundation, Noida, Uttar Pardesh )

The aim of the present paper is to two fold. First, to explore the emotion of grief by reviewing the most prominent approaches that have attempted to understand it, and secondly to explore the modernized ways of mourning through social media. Since the advent of technology and newer forms of digital platforms the utilization of networking sites have significantly increased. This has set the tone for the present discussion since interacting with the internet especially through social media have become an integral part of every individuals lifestyle. Social networking sites have become a common site for reaching out to others for a sense of support and connection – it has also become a site to express grief and bereavement. The present paper attempts to bring together existing literature on how digital spaces have proven to be extraordinarily therapeutic for grieving individuals. The commentaries and studies swing between conflicting forms of evidence – on the one hand, grieving through social media is pointing to becoming a formalized death ritual in the 21st century, while on the other hand highlighting certain morbidities that expressions on social media prove to be, which seem to trivialize the very emotion of grief. While the sincerity of such forms of expression continue to be questioned, the reality of mourning through digital platforms must be acknowledged.