In a recent story from Religion News Service -- "Technology Shifts the Meaning of 'Death Us Do Part' in Funeral Rituals" -- USA Today writer Laura Petrecca calls Internet grief practices "Mourning 2.0," noting that "technological advances have dramatically altered how we grieve for and memorialize the dead."
In this new era, the bereaved readily share their sorrow via Facebook comments. They light virtual candles on memorial websites, upload video tributes to YouTube and express sadness through online funeral home guest books. Mourners affix adhesive-backed barcodes or “QR code” chips to tombstones so visitors can pull up photos and videos with a scan of a smartphone.
Those in need of consolation can replay the streaming video of a funeral service to hear a cleric’s comforting words. Those who want help remembering a yahrtzeit — the anniversary of death in the Jewish faith — can get e-mail reminders from websites such as ShivaConnect.
According to Therese Rando, author of How to Go on Living When Someone You Love Dies,
“Throughout history, we’ve memorialized people we’ve loved and lost ... These are not new needs. These are new ways of meeting the old needs.”
“This is the best part of the Internet,” Rando said. “It connects people and allows them to recognize that they are not alone.”
A number of online resources for people bereaved by suicide are listed in the Online Support for Survivors section of the Suicide Grief Support Quick Reference, including information about
- discussion forums, such as Alliance of Hope;
- email listservs, such as Parents of Suicides and Friends & Families of Suicides (POS-FFOS);
- chat rooms, such as Veterans Crisis Line Chat; and
- blogs, such as the one you are now reading by Unified Community Solutions.
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