Death Immortalized: The Phenomenology of Social Media Mourning Among Filipino Millennials

Abstract

Grieving and mourning in death evolved from traditional to digital and in varying age-groups, the grieving process is expressed in diverse ways. The existing literature shows little digital mourning, especially in the Filipino culture context. Thus, this phenomenological study aims to describe digitalized mourning through social media platforms to process the grief of millennial participants (24–42 years old), from the Philippines. The narratives were analyzed through thematic analysis via a repertory grid and rendered the H.E.R.O. model of social media mourning (Helping and Hurting, Enriching and Encroaching, Relieving and Reliving, and Obtaining and Obscuring) that characterizes online mourning demonstrated by Filipino millennials. The findings have important implications for individuals, families, and communities as they navigate the challenges of grief and loss in the digital age. This research contributes to the growing Filipino research on death and dying, specific in age groups, as most beneficial to gerontological psychology, developmental psychology, and clinical psychology.