Mourning 2.0--Continuing Bonds Between the Living and the Dead on Facebook

What is it about?

I argue that memorial pages constitute a new ritualized and public space for maintaining these continued bonds and that individuals exhibit several types of bonding interactions with the deceased. This research highlights how Facebook users have transcended the limitations of time and physical space in relation to traditional bereavement behavior and rituals and how data found on public websites, such as Facebook, can be used to further understand bereavement and to explore continuing bonds between the living and the dead.

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Why is it important?

Because bereavement and mourning are such private matters in the United States, not much is known about people's experiences, let alone why they may or may not participate in rituals and activities that continue their bonds with the deceased. By taking a closer look at these rituals, the motivations behind them, and their meanings, we can more deeply explore the relationship between the two in a death-positive way, where we confront our own mortality and feelings about death - not only as individuals but also, as a culture.