Technology and Condolence Messages
The Internet and social media have revolutionized our lives in
ways we never imagined. Shopping. Banking. Dating. It is no
surprise, then, that the Internet and new technologies are also
changing the way we mourn and ritualize death. This is one of the
reasons we created Heart2Soul: To help people navigate online
funeral information and connect from all corners of the world.
Peggy Post, director and spokesperson for The Emily Post® Institute, says it's OK to
use technology to communicate the news of a death with friends and
family, but there are a few things you should keep in mind when
informing others.
- Whenever possible, tell people closest to the honoree in person
or on the telephone.
- After an announcement has been made in the newspaper, it's
appropriate to share the information on a social networking site
such as Facebook.
Heart2Soul Community
The Heart2Soul Community is a free, online community. It is
designed to help communicate details regarding funeral services to
family members, friends, colleagues and distant contacts all across
the globe. Family members and guests who sign in to the community
can share photos and videos and sign up for email alerts to receive
up-to-date service information. Messages and condolences can be
left on a customized guestbook. You can even sign up to deliver a
meal or volunteer to help the family with errands.
Click here to search for a Heart2Soul
Community.
Online Obituary Services
The Internet is fast becoming the place to post obituaries and
death notices. Some online obituaries and memorials are
automatically generated by newspapers, unbeknownst to the family.
This means if you leave a sympathy note, the family may never see
it. It's best to ask the family if they have created an online
guest book or community for the honoree, like the Heart2Soul
Community. All Heart2Soul
Communities are created by friends and family of the honoree; they
are not automatically generated.
Click here to see if the family has created a Heart2Soul
Community.
Email
Is it all right to email an expression of sympathy? Though some
experts may disagree, Peggy Post, director and spokesperson for The
Emily Post® Institute, says
an email is an immediate and non-intrusive way to show you are
thinking about a friend or co-worker in the initial days following
the death of a family member. Follow up an emailed message with a
handwritten note and, if possible, attend the funeral or
visitation.
Social Media
Social networking sites like Facebook have become a platform for
expressing grief and sharing sympathy. These spontaneous
expressions of mourning bring people together, virtually, to share
stories about the honoree, poems, photos, music, and even
video.
If someone dies, what happens to his or her Facebook page? If
Facebook is notified that a user is dead, they may memorialize the
user's account. This means that friends and family are allowed to
write on the honoree's Wall in remembrance. To close the account,
Facebook needs a formal request from the user's next of kin or
other proper legal request.*
