Unification of mourners:
The memorialization of people is not a new concept it has been carrying on for thousands of years. In the past people would create a physical memorial where the person was buried or the place they died by placing a grave stone or a cross, a physical site that represented death that people could gather to mourn at. However it was only those who could physical attend the grave that were present for the funeral excluding other family members and friends who could not make the trip. The online landscape of the Internet provides a space for those mourners of the deceased in far-flung corner of the world to unite in one place to mourn the loss of the loved one (Veale, 2004). Modern life has become more fragmented over time …show more content…
Deathwork is the mediation between the living mourners and the dead through an occupation, ‘mediator deathwork” as a channel in which to express a valid tale about the deceased (Walter, 2005). Social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace as an online interactive medium have transformed deathwork mediation. The Internet is an interactive place, which has been why memorialization in the virtual realm has exponentially increased over recent history. The idea of the mediator is to find out about the deceased, tell their tale creating a durable biography of the deceased’s life story and relationships. Social networking embodies the ability for mourners to contribute to their own deathwork experience, they may rely their experiences with the deceased to others, whilst other reciprocate with their own stories about the deceased. Social networking creates this cyclic process of deathwork by the mourner and the other mourners; it changes the narrative that has been seen in previous mourning practices in the western world. As seen in figure 1 above friends are commenting on Rich’s memorailised page, by commenting for his birthday on August 19th and linking photos to his page his friends Jennifer and Brittni are interacting and building a durable biography of his life, mediating his death. The deathwork mediator is …show more content…
These support networks of loved ones and people who have experienced loss in any manner are not a new concept, social networking allows it to reach a new space. Where previously support networks or groups to help with grieving were very personal and face-to-face with the introduction of cyberspace those support networks and groups can be accessed from the comfort of the berevied’s home. In Pamela Robert’s article “The living and the dead: community in the virtual cemetery” (2004) she notes that shared grief work can grow feelings of social support and help improve relationships with both the living and the deceased. A community must have four components in order to function: membership, influence, integration and a sense of fulfilment. Social networking memorials and support groups on these networks qualify as a community Robert’s in her research into online virtual communities concluded that the visiting habits of others reflected the shared emotional experiences of visitors implying a cohesion with those visiting the memorial. The cohesion of an experience created a tighter online community than it did face-to-face group as there were more opportunities to share memories and shared experiences with the deceased and other mourners. ‘Healthful Chat: Meet, greet, share, support’
The memorialization of people is not a new concept it has been carrying on for thousands of years. In the past people would create a physical memorial where the person was buried or the place they died by placing a grave stone or a cross, a physical site that represented death that people could gather to mourn at. However it was only those who could physical attend the grave that were present for the funeral excluding other family members and friends who could not make the trip. The online landscape of the Internet provides a space for those mourners of the deceased in far-flung corner of the world to unite in one place to mourn the loss of the loved one (Veale, 2004). Modern life has become more fragmented over time …show more content…
Deathwork is the mediation between the living mourners and the dead through an occupation, ‘mediator deathwork” as a channel in which to express a valid tale about the deceased (Walter, 2005). Social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace as an online interactive medium have transformed deathwork mediation. The Internet is an interactive place, which has been why memorialization in the virtual realm has exponentially increased over recent history. The idea of the mediator is to find out about the deceased, tell their tale creating a durable biography of the deceased’s life story and relationships. Social networking embodies the ability for mourners to contribute to their own deathwork experience, they may rely their experiences with the deceased to others, whilst other reciprocate with their own stories about the deceased. Social networking creates this cyclic process of deathwork by the mourner and the other mourners; it changes the narrative that has been seen in previous mourning practices in the western world. As seen in figure 1 above friends are commenting on Rich’s memorailised page, by commenting for his birthday on August 19th and linking photos to his page his friends Jennifer and Brittni are interacting and building a durable biography of his life, mediating his death. The deathwork mediator is …show more content…
These support networks of loved ones and people who have experienced loss in any manner are not a new concept, social networking allows it to reach a new space. Where previously support networks or groups to help with grieving were very personal and face-to-face with the introduction of cyberspace those support networks and groups can be accessed from the comfort of the berevied’s home. In Pamela Robert’s article “The living and the dead: community in the virtual cemetery” (2004) she notes that shared grief work can grow feelings of social support and help improve relationships with both the living and the deceased. A community must have four components in order to function: membership, influence, integration and a sense of fulfilment. Social networking memorials and support groups on these networks qualify as a community Robert’s in her research into online virtual communities concluded that the visiting habits of others reflected the shared emotional experiences of visitors implying a cohesion with those visiting the memorial. The cohesion of an experience created a tighter online community than it did face-to-face group as there were more opportunities to share memories and shared experiences with the deceased and other mourners. ‘Healthful Chat: Meet, greet, share, support’