Ever friend requested someone who was dead?
Mia has. Jamila has. Not in a perverse macabre act. But rather, an action of grief.
This week on the podcast, after the country mourns from the brutual execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, it was Facebook we turned to in an attempt to make sense of our feelings.
Suddenly, an online space normally propelled by the superficial or narcissitic was flooded with anger, grief and shock, promises of rememberance, condolences and spirituality. Social media is changing the way that we grieve:
It’s an increasing phenomenon across our social networks: couples, families and friends are not only grieving the death of loved ones, but interacting with the Facebook profiles they left behind. Facebook have rolled out particular features for when it’s users die: memorialising the accounts of deceased people: leaving behind a community where people can still post updates and photos and interact with past ones.
For a society that has previously shunned talk of death, approaching grieving with a grit-your-teeth-and-push-through-it-mentality, seeing tragedy, death and condolences in our social media newsfeeds is interesting. Is it good? Is it bad? Is it oversharing? Or overdue?
It’s not all death and sadness on the podcast. Also this week, Rosie reviews The Bachelorette – and it’s hasn’t even started yet.
Also,
Why the entire Royal baby announcement hinges on the Queen
How Mia’s son ended up taking a pregnancy test
And in the leadup to her pregnancy, political junkie Jamila Rizvi has read Every Single Book About Julia Gillard Ever Written so you don’t have to. She tells us precicely which one to read.
Listen to the full episode here:
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