TY - JOUR
T1 - Death on Facebook
T2 - Examining the roles of social media communication for the bereaved
AU - Rossetto, Kelly R.
AU - Lannutti, Pamela J.
AU - Strauman, Elena C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, © The Author(s) 2014.
PY - 2015/11/22
Y1 - 2015/11/22
N2 - Although research has highlighted potential benefits social media sites present for the bereaved (Carroll & Landry, 2010; Sanderson & Cheong, 2010), there is also the potential for problematic effects (Kern, Forman, & Gil-Egui, 2013). This study examines the ways in which the social networking site Facebook was helpful and unhelpful to participants (N = 265) when someone they knew died. Analysis of 454 thought units revealed three themes describing participants’ experiences with communication on Facebook during bereavement: news dissemination, preservation, and community. The results suggest that Facebook communication is both beneficial and challenging for bereaved users, which may produce a coping paradox. Implications of grief-related mediated communication and the coping paradox are explored.
AB - Although research has highlighted potential benefits social media sites present for the bereaved (Carroll & Landry, 2010; Sanderson & Cheong, 2010), there is also the potential for problematic effects (Kern, Forman, & Gil-Egui, 2013). This study examines the ways in which the social networking site Facebook was helpful and unhelpful to participants (N = 265) when someone they knew died. Analysis of 454 thought units revealed three themes describing participants’ experiences with communication on Facebook during bereavement: news dissemination, preservation, and community. The results suggest that Facebook communication is both beneficial and challenging for bereaved users, which may produce a coping paradox. Implications of grief-related mediated communication and the coping paradox are explored.
KW - Bereavement
KW - communication
KW - coping paradox
KW - Facebook
KW - grief
KW - social media
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84942101218&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0265407514555272
DO - 10.1177/0265407514555272
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84942101218
SN - 0265-4075
VL - 32
SP - 974
EP - 994
JO - Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
JF - Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
IS - 7
ER -