Blogging as a Means of Grieving

Abstract

People are increasingly turning to the Internet to grieve and manage the traumatic experience of losing a loved one and to cope with emotional pain after the loss. Many bereaved individuals establish personal blogs following the death of a parent, spouse or partner, sibling, close family member, or child. For some, blogging about the death of someone special serves as a form of therapy, healing, and emotional release; for others, it serves as a public way to cope with grief. This chapter zeroes in on the communicative experiences of grief bloggers and examines the role of computer-mediated communication in the process of grieving. It starts with a discussion of the stages of grief, explicates the positive and negative impact of blogging on the grieving process, and outlines practical and ethical dilemmas presented by grief blogs and blogging.