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ERIC Number: EJ1019036
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0270-4676
EISSN: N/A
Virtual Mourning and Memory Construction on Facebook: Here Are the Terms of Use
McEwen, Rhonda N.; Scheaffer, Kathleen
Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, v33 n3-4 p64-75 Jun-Aug 2013
This article investigates the online information practices of persons grieving and mourning via Facebook. It examines how, or whether, these practices and Facebook's terms of use policies have implications for the bereaved and/or the memory of the deceased. To explore these questions, we compared traditional publicly recorded asynchronous modes of grieving (i.e., obituaries) with Facebook's asynchronous features (i.e., pages, photos, messages, profiles, comments). Additionally, by applying observational techniques to Facebook memorial pages and Facebook profiles, conducting a survey, and interviewing respondents as a follow-up to the survey, we examined the benefits of and issues surrounding online information sharing via Facebook when coping with the loss of another. We found that the immediacy of publishing comments, messages, wall posts, and photos provides Facebook mourners with a quick outlet for their emotions and a means of timely group support; however, these actions directly affect the online curation of the deceased's self and memory and also create an environment of competition among mourners. The aforementioned benefits and complications of using Facebook during bereavement are shaped by the policies outlined by the social media platform.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Tests/Questionnaires; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A