I continue to struggle with the idea of onlne grief support though I see evidence of it on the How to Survive Your Grief Facebook Page. Having faciliated grief support groups face to face, postings on an online forum, grief blogs and such, somehow feel inadequate. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love the technology but I do wonder how useful it really is.
I think the most disturbing for me are what I have come to think of as 'hit and run' postings. People who post once but never stick around to get any real support. I do see that as different from other online forums where people do participate over time both giving and receiving support. And having done hundreds of teleclasses over the past 10 years, I can see grief support groups being conducted via conference call (stay tuned for an upcoming announcement).
The criteria for me is that people really participate and not just post their pain or their RIP and then completely drop out of sight, probably moving on to the next website or forum.
Here are some recent articles on online grieving that contribute to the conversation...
Researchers analyze student grief online after campus shootings
Death and Facebook: Social Media Grieving
Feelings and Facebook: grief in social media
The jury's still out for me. What do you think?
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