Social media could soon be sounding the death knell for the sympathy card according to one in ten UK adults.
The findings form part of a new report ‘Death in the Digital Age – A life well streamed’ released today by the Manchester based Co-op.
The report, which is the second in a series of studies looking at death in the digital era, highlights that the nation is increasingly turning to social media to break the news that a loved one has passed.
Over a tenth (13%) of UK adults have personally posted online to update others about the death of a loved one, whilst a quarter (25%) say they wouldn’t have known someone had died if it hadn’t been shared on social.
Highlighting that this is an increasing trend for the future, a fifth of us would want a loved one to post online when we pass away and a quarter (23%) of 18-24 year-olds have already updated online friends about a death.
When looking at who people will post online about, findings show that we are most likely to post about a family member (19%).
However sharing news about the loss of a friend (15%) or partner (13%) also led us online. Furthermore, celebrity deaths triggered a post from over a tenth (12%) of UK adults.
Regarding the online sites UK adults have used to post online about the death of a loved one, Facebook is most popular with four fifths (84%) of adults saying this was where they posted.
A further fifth (18%) took to twitter and over a tenth (13%) created a dedicated online memorial site.
David Collingwood, Head of Operations for Co-op Funeralcare commented:
“With people increasingly using social media to update on everyday life, it’s no surprise that online sites are more frequently being used as forums to update on the news of someone passing away.
“Our study reveals that 33% of those adults who want their loved ones to post online when they pass away have already let someone know that this is their wish or communicated it in their funeral plan. I think that’s really important – we all deal with grief in different ways and my advice would be to consider if an online post is what your late loved one would have wanted and whether there is a risk of upsetting friends and family members by doing so.”
