What does this research mean for the field?

Social media transforms traditional mourning by creating public digital spaces where traces of the deceased remain visible, functioning as a symbolic bridge between the living and the dead and fostering communities of shared grief. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how social media platforms function as thanatechnological spaces that transform grief narratives, memory construction, and public mourning practices.

August 30, 2026

Social Media as Thanatechnology

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Authors

DSDavide Sisto

Discussion

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Overview

Conceptual analysis reveals how digital platforms reshape bereavement in modern communities, suggesting social media acts as a thanatechnological bridge.

Key Points

To examine how social media platforms function as thanatechnological spaces that transform grief narratives, memory construction, and public mourning practices.
Conducted a theoretical and narrative analysis of online mourning practices and digital memorialization.
Examined emerging thanatechnological artifacts and rituals, including persistent social media profiles, virtual cemeteries, and QR codes on physical graves.
Demonstrated that persistent digital traces alter the symbolic boundary between presence and absence, keeping the deceased visibly present in public discourse.
Identified social media networks as communal mourning spaces that facilitate collective grieving and bridge the gap between the living and the dead.

Cite This Study

Davide Sisto (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a93f08e6c1a8fb52e79cc8a https://doi.org/10.1353/sor.2026.a1000064

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August 30, 2026

Social Media as Thanatechnology

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

DSDavide Sisto

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Conceptual analysis reveals how digital platforms reshape bereavement in modern communities, suggesting social media acts as a thanatechnological bridge.

Key Points

To examine how social media platforms function as thanatechnological spaces that transform grief narratives, memory construction, and public mourning practices.
Conducted a theoretical and narrative analysis of online mourning practices and digital memorialization.
Examined emerging thanatechnological artifacts and rituals, including persistent social media profiles, virtual cemeteries, and QR codes on physical graves.
Demonstrated that persistent digital traces alter the symbolic boundary between presence and absence, keeping the deceased visibly present in public discourse.
Identified social media networks as communal mourning spaces that facilitate collective grieving and bridge the gap between the living and the dead.

Cite This Study

Davide Sisto (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a93f08e6c1a8fb52e79cc8a https://doi.org/10.1353/sor.2026.a1000064

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