As professionals experienced in planning memorial and Funeral Services in Milford, OH, the people at Dodds Memorials have watched as social media has helped change how people process grief and memorialize those who have passed. One of the trickiest issues that they have to tackle that involves social media usage and funerals or memorial services focuses on the concept of funeral selfies. They conclude that social media can be respectfully included as part of the memorial process for a loved one, but that there are still certain behaviors that should be avoided on social media.
What Is a Funeral Selfie?
A funeral selfie is a selfie that is either taken at a funeral or concerning a funeral, like when a person is on the way to or leaving the funeral. Some funeral selfies include pictures of the deceased, but that is not required for it to be a funeral selfie.
Funeral Selfies: Inherently Disrespectful or Part of the Grieving Process?
While many people believe that funeral selfies are inherently disrespectful, others believe selfies can be part of a healthy grieving process. It probably comes as no surprise that these differences of opinion fall largely along generational lines, with many Millenials and younger people, who are used to selfies being part of their interactions on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, seeing them as a way to reach out to their community as a whole. Given how isolating grief can be for survivors, this increased feeling of community can be a very positive thing.
Respect Is Key
However, while social media can increase a feeling of connection, it can be done inappropriately. Pictures of family members and loved ones gathered in celebration of someone’s life are appropriate and respectful to share. This can be true even if the people are laughing or smiling because so much of a funeral service involves sharing happy stories about the person who has passed.
However, selfies that are hash-tagged with comments about how a person looks hot or with people pulling faces or making gestures can come across as disrespectful even if that was not the intent of the person posting the selfie. As long as it is always respectful, social media can be an important component of memorial and Funeral Services in Milford, OH.
