Mourning and Grief on Facebook: An Examination of Motivations for Interacting With the Deceased

Facebook not only changed the way we communicate but also the way we mourn and express grief. The social networking site allows users to interact with deceased users' walls after death. This study utilized textual analysis to categorize Facebook posts ( N = 122) on 30 deceased users' walls according to uses and gratifications theory. Most posts were found to be motivated by entertainment, followed by integration and social interaction. Facebook users posted memories, condolences, and interacted with friends and family members in the deceased user's network. Implications and potential future research are discussed.