The Impact of Parasocial Relationships on Grief in the Digital Age

This chapter delves into parasocial relationships and the emotional impact of celebrities' deaths on their fans. It examines how social media transforms mourning into a collective experience, highlighting cases like Liam Payne and Talia Joy.

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Thank you to BRITA for supporting the podcast, helping us keep our deep dives going, and, of course, keeping us hydrated! Check out BRITA here: ⁠https://www.brita.com.au/turnonthetaste

In this episode, I explore the evolution and ethics of death and dying on social media– from how our online experiences shape parasocial grief to the responsibilities that platforms hold when a user– whether famous or not– dies with a complex (and sometimes profitable) digital footprint. This episode also includes interviews with two grief experts, Candice Mace from Griefline and Michelle Moriarity of Grief Connect.

00:38 Intro

3:34 How grief has evolved: Grief on social media

5:32 Liam Payne

7:38 TaliaJoy18

9:19 Is parasocial grief real? Interview with Candice Mace from Griefline

25:00 Expressing grief online: From the post-death spike to creating community

27:52 Grief-policing in fandoms

31:41 The power of social media connection in coping with grief: Interview with Michelle Moriarty from Grief Connect

56:27 The grief economy & social media platforms

57:39 What happens to our digital footprint and data when we die?

1:00:00 Conclusion

Find our podcast YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18HclY7Tt5-1e3Z-MEP7Jg