Mourning on social media in China: A case study of the Bilibili memorial account @MochaOfficial

Social media platforms have facilitated the integration of mourning into the digital realm, enabling bereaved individuals to connect with the deceased and incorporating social elements into conventional mourning practices. This paper utilizes computational communication techniques to analyze the memorial account @MochaOfficial on the Bilibili platform as a case study. The system examines the underlying topics and emotional expressions found in the comments associated with its video content. The study reveals that users spontaneously establish a community of mourners by engaging in interactive comments in the absence of platform features. The regular involvement of individuals and their restrained displays of grief, in line with the community’s public nature, subtly reveal a private aspect within the public online platform. Furthermore, the significance of the deceased person’s identity is pivotal in the growth of the grieving community.