The Living and the Dead: Community in the Virtual Cemetery

Abstract

Rheingold (1993) and others have described the potential for increased connectedness and community in cyberspace, but critics have charged that the Web increases social isolation rather than fostering interpersonal relationships. The present article explores how creating and visiting Web memorials (activities that initially appear isolating) affect the bereaved. Data from three studies on Web memorialization (descriptions of Web memorials, guestbook entries, and a survey of Web memorial authors) are used to examine three aspects of bereavement community: continuing bonds with the dead, strengthening existing relationships among the living, and creating new communities of the bereaved in cyberspace. Analysis suggests that rather than serving as a poor substitute for traditional bereavement activities, Web memorialization is a valued addition, allowing the bereaved to enhance their relationship with the dead and to increase and deepen their connections with others who have suffered a loss.