How Media Changes The Way We Grieve

I'm sure we've all been very consumed this past week about what happened at Virginia Tech. And how could we not be? I thought the Virginia Tech Massacre is a great example of how the media changes the way we grieve. For example, immediately on facebook people were able to change their profile pictures to a black ribbon with VT in front of it. There was also a group made that people could join to support VT and mourn the victims. There is nothing wrong with that but is this how we grieve now? By joining groups and changing our profile pictures? It seems like such a passive way of grieving when death is such an intimate and personal matter. I think that yes to students who go to VT I'm sure they found it comforting to see people's profile picture or the group. But what about actually doing something? Like sending money to families who lost someone so they can afford a funeral. Or if you know someone who goes to VT why not call them rather than sending them an instant message or text to see if they are ok. It seems that the Internet and new technology has made us all so passive especially with matters that maybe deserve more than a text or an online group.

I also found it interesting how two days after the Virginia Tech Massacre the front page of the New York Post was Larry Birkhead. Do people really want to read more about Larry Birkhead when 32 innocent people were killed? It seems that we always use celebrity gossip to cover up heavy and important matters that are going on in our world. I think this is a perfect example of how are society talks about death. We don't talk about it. Death is not an open topic in our society and is usually covered up. Death is not an easy subject to talk about and a lot of the times we avoid it. The media avoids it just as much as people avoid it. It's hard to know what to say to people when they've lost someone. To this day there are friends of mine who have lost a parent and we never talk about it. Because I don't know what to say so I just avoid it. I think the best thing to do is to just let that person know you are there for them and to just let them talk. Sometimes listening is the best thing you can do.