Social Media grieving

The advent of social media has initiated many changes in the way we socialize. For instance, New York Daily News reports that nearly 35 per cent of relationships in the United States of America began online. In my opinion that statistic is incredible, as it shows a major shift in dating norms. We have also seen the rise in social media “influencers”. Influencers are people who make a living through paid promotions on their social media pages. Some influencers have become millionaires solely because of social media and good business sense.

Unfortunately, there is also a dark side of social media. We have seen the rise of excessive cyber bullying and desperate attention seeking all over the internet. Although I wouldn’t go as far as to compare social media to drugs, I cannot deny our obsession with our online presence.

However, today I wanted to focus on a specific type of attention seekers, or “grievers”, as they call think of themselves. We’ve all seen this time and time again. Someone dies unexpectedly and suddenly it becomes a race to see who can throw up a “RIP” status first. I’m not implying that these individuals do not care about the deceased, however, their callousness cannot be ignored. So many times, individuals are quick to “mourn” online that they never consider whether close family members have been notified.

Sometimes siblings and parents find out about the deceased from a Facebook post and not a loved one. Are we so thirsty for likes and shares that we ignore the feelings of others in our desperate grab for attention? Please don’t deny it. Rest in Peace posts often garner a lot of attention, and let’s not forget the screenshot of “our last convo together”. Usually the first posters garner the most attention, and that can be a good feeling, but please think about the family.

There are even times when parents must beg online users to stop posting images of the deceased, as it is too painful. What is our morbid obsession with posting pictures of dead people online? Imagine your loved one died in a horrific accident or murder and accidentally seeing their dead bodies floating around online. No one wants to see their loved one that way.

I understand that we all grieve in different ways, but please think about the family before you click send. Yes, you can post your “RIP bro/sis” statuses, but it is not too much to ask to wait a day before you post. I cannot imagine how horrible it must be to find out your loved one died through a Facebook status.

Think before you post.