The last podcast of my travelogue explores how social media influence the mourning process. Two psychologists, Jennifer Boni and Arturo Peon, give insights into the experience of grief. Is it better to maintain the profile of a deceased person, or should it be taken down? How does technology affect the construction of personal and collective memory?
Although Facebook’s memorial profiles can facilitate the mourning process, they can also be the source of profound dismay. Security loop holes make the system vulnerable to hoaxes, and add to the grief of the people left behind.
Grafiti-memorial in Montevideo, Uruguay (photo taken by Arturo Peon Barriga). "Sergio Silveira used to fish and teach here. Today he is no more. If you wish to use this place, do it in dignity. Daddy forever."
[podcast]http://blip.tv/file/get/Nw546-TheDigitalAfterlifeWhatHappensInSocialMediaWhenWeDieP948.mp3[/podcast]
Further resources:
More on grief cycle and mourning stages.
Facebook blog: Memories of Friends Departed Endure on Facebook
Jose van Dijk, Mediated Memories in the Digital Age
