Angels in the Clouds: Stillbirth and Virtual Cemeteries on 50 YouTube Videos

Angels in the Clouds: Stillbirth and Virtual Cemeteries on 50 YouTube Videos

Sani L; Laurenti Dimanche AC; Bacqué MF

Omega: Journal of Death & Dying

2021

Photography; Qualitative Studies; Human; Descriptive Statistics; Music; Social Media; User-Computer Interface; Perinatal Death; Mothers -- Psychosocial Factors; Videorecording; Religion and Religions; Burial Practices

Today every aspect of our life is published and shared online, including grief. The virtual cemeteries and social networks' use could be considered as a new modern mortuary ritual. Starting from the keyword stillbirth, 50 videos published on YouTube since 2008 have been analyzed qualitatively. The videos, 70% published by the mother, with an average length of 5.52 minutes, a mean of 2,429,576 views and 2,563 of comments, follow a sort of script: the second part with black and white photos, background music, and religious references. Could the continuous access to the child's technological grave encourage a complicated grief or be a support, given by the interaction with users, limiting the sense of isolation. The parent shows his or her own conceptions about death and, as a modern baptism, presents the child to the whole society. Videos keep child's memory alive and fuel a process of personalization and tenderness in the user.

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April 2021 List