The Expression of Death on Social Media: From Parasocial Grief to The Monetistation of Digital Mourning

Episode • Feb 20 • 1h 2m

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In this episode, I explore the evolution and ethics of death and dying on social media– from how our online experiences shape parasocial grief to the responsibilities that platforms hold when a user– whether famous or not– dies with a complex (and sometimes profitable) digital footprint. This episode also includes interviews with two grief experts, Candice Mace from Griefline and Michelle Moriarity of Grief Connect.

00:38 Intro

3:34 How grief has evolved: Grief on social media

5:32 Liam Payne

7:38 TaliaJoy18

9:19 Is parasocial grief real? Interview with Candice Mace from Griefline

25:00 Expressing grief online: From the post-death spike to creating community

27:52 Grief-policing in fandoms

31:41 The power of social media connection in coping with grief: Interview with Michelle Moriarty from Grief Connect

56:27 The grief economy & social media platforms

57:39 What happens to our digital footprint and data when we die?

1:00:00 Conclusion

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