Internet ‘safe haven’ for venting out grief after death of loved ones

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 24

A decade of access to Internet and social media has considerably changed the concept of death and mourning in Kashmir and the improved connectivity has helped survivors in dealing with the aftermath, a rare research titled ‘death studies’ has concluded.

The study, published last month by a group of researchers from the departments of sociology at the University of Kashmir and Aligarh Muslim University, found that the physical space has shrunk and online spaces have come into play in cases of death and mourning.

“A considerable shift is being witnessed so far as the death and mourning in Kashmir is concerned. It is because of the improved communication connectivity along with the progress of electronic devices that together help survivors in the times of death and mourning,” the study said.

The boom of mobile Internet and social media revolution that began nearly a decade ago has dramatically changed the communication patterns in Kashmir Valley. The Internet has, however, remained shut in the region for more than five months.

The researchers found that the traditional physical spaces of mourning as well of the processes involved in the death have drastically changed and there has been a “time-space compression” due to Internet and technology.

“The physical space is shrinking and giving way for online or virtual spaces to play their role,” researchers concluded in their study of restructuring of death and mourning practices and the impact caused by the rapid introduction of technology.

It concluded that technology, including Internet, has and is still changing “the concept of death and dying” by taking death out of their normal setting to organisational institutions and by letting individuals to post personal messages and experiences regarding the death of loved ones on social media.

The study used a grounded theory approach that aimed to highlight the evolving technological dimensions of death and mourning practices and its transfer from a set physical setting to virtual and open space. The study was carried on 30 participants from Kashmir and the data was collected using in-depth face-to-face interviews and field notes were also used to capture non-verbal communication.

On the basis of the data analysis, researchers found eight major themes that included dissemination of the news of death, acceptance to the reality of loss, working through grief and continued bonds with the deceased.

The study found that Internet formed a “safe haven” for venting out sadness and grief following the death of a loved one. It also quoted a girl who had posted a note about her friend’s death on her social media account.

“During interview, Sameena revealed that she got a large number of responses for her status, through which she was able to talk to people about her dead friend, which in turn helped her to feel somewhat at ease,” it said.

The study also found that people were more often announcing deaths via social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Instagram “within no time”.

Major findings

The technology has and is still changing ‘the concept of death and dying’ by taking death out of their normal setting to organisational institutions and by letting individuals to post personal messages and experiences regarding the death of loved ones on social media

On the basis of the data analysis, researchers found eight major themes that included dissemination of the news of death, acceptance to the reality of loss, working through grief and continued bonds with the deceased

The study found that Internet forms a ‘safe haven’ for venting out sadness and grief following the death of a loved one

It has led to shrinkage of time and space considerations to a large extent, however, it is affecting traditional ways of passing on the message of loss to the survivors and removing a personal layer from it, the study found.