Abstract
More than half of enrolled college students experience a significant loss during their education. When coping with loss, students may turn to social media to express grief This study explored how college students participate in communicating loss online and how students perceive grief expressions and mourning messages of others on social media. Data was collected through virtual focus group interviews with 26 participants and analyzed using eclectic and pattern coding (Saldana, 2013). Results indicate participants perceived online mourning as either appropriate or inappropriate based on relational tie, channel, and perceived authenticity of the other's communication. When observing others' grief, participants followed a clear process to determine whether to participate in the display of grief When self-grieving, participants preferred to delay their communication on social media, but expected and appreciated online support from others when participants eventually communicated their grief Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
49
Issue
2
First Page
128
Last Page
156
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Currie-Mueller, Jenna L.; Beckermann, Kay M.; Copeland, Adam J.; and Jahnl, Gunther-Michael
(2017)
"Creating Digital Displays of Grief: Appropriateness, Relationality, and Mourning Loss,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 49:
No.
2, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol49/iss2/4
Copyright
©2017 Iowa Communication Association
