Eric Deggans of the St. Pete Times TV/Media Critic wrote a thoughtful and provocative piece today about the impact of social media on the death and grieving process.  While it's perhaps inevitable the ubiquitous new communication medium would eventually hit such human issues as suffering, death, loss, and grief, the rapidity with which people are using social media to cope with death and grief surprises me.  (Just last week, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged his priests to use the Internet and blogs to spread the Catholic religion.)

In his piece, Deggans follows the journey a grieving mother takes after losing her 29 year old son to a struggle with addiction.  Deggans describes Charlotte Fox's February 7th Times online obituary as "an online wake of sorts, with family, friends and even total strangers sharing stories about the toll that addiction and unexpected death can take. "  The online obituary was raw in its emotion, naked in its honesty, and matter-of-fact in its pronouncement.  In part, it read, her son "died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head because of depression brought on by addiction to prescription drugs."

The candor and brutal honesty opened the flood gates to responses from friends as well as strangers.  Those who read the obituary could connect to that raw emotion of loss and wanted to share.  It also allowed Charlotte to share her innermost feelings without the more formal restrictions of traditional society.  Online communications, whether through blogs or other social media sites allow a less inhibited exchange of communication.  In most instances, this could prove to be very helpful in dealing with grief associated with loss.  On the other hand, a free-flow exchange of grief may be too much for those who aren't prepared or stable enough to handle such a situation.  As with anything new, proceed with caution.

New technology can be a tremendous asset in improving the quality of our lives.  In this instance, it helped a mother deal with the crushing loss of her 29 year old son.  In publishing her son's obituary online, she accomplished two laudable goals:  1)come to grips with her own grief by reaching out beyond her local community, and 2)provide a lesson in the tragedy of drug addiction to those who are struggling with similar issues.