Death on Facebook

Abstract

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.