ABSTRACT
Death is an inherently social experience, and the way in which death is understood and grieved is, in part, socially and culturally constructed and managed. Digital memorials are online spaces created to remember and honor the dead, and serve the dual aim of making sense of death and perpetuating bonds with the dead. Funeral companies leading the trend of offering internet memorials have traditionally been large industry franchises, with companies such as Service Corporation International offering internet memorialization packages with software platform support at the national level. Social network site digital memorials include memorials posted on SNS such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Online support network memorials have undergone little change since their initial emergence on the web in the late 1990s, largely continuing to function as support for the bereaved and providing resources and support for mourners who generally share something in common.
