With more than 200 million active Facebook users, and half of all teenagers using some form of social networking, the practice of posting online messages to dead friends is a recent but increasing phenomenon. Facebook does not delete profiles of the deceased, according to a spokesperson, but puts them in a "memorial state," which hides some information from view.
A 2009 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Research on social networking and death found that users often continue a relationship with the profile of the deceased for months. The study looked at 20 deceased persons' profiles on an undisclosed social-networking site and recorded 1,167 people posting 4,780 comments over an average 10-month period.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Memorializing the Dead on Social Media
Friday's Sacremento Bee including a piece about memorials forming on social media websites, such as Facebook. These networks serve as a new outlet for grief, particularly among teenagers and young adults.
