Death in Popular Culture

The rise of the live stream funeral broadcast.

In 2011 The New York Times published an article that discussed the growing trend toward remotely broadcast live stream funeral services (read the full article here). Since that time, many funeral homes have quietly been adding the service.  

Now, a new article published in The Atlantic once again explores the impact of offering real-time streaming of funeral services.

While the utility of funeral webcasting is clear, what is less apparent is the technology’s impact on the Westerns world’s relationship with death. For individual mourners, is it helpful or harmful to the grieving process? What happens if there’s a technical problem with the webcast—will we grieve even more knowing we missed the service in person and online? Does webcasting bode well for the future of death acceptance? Or does it only promote of our further alienation from that inevitable moment? Read the full story: Death on the Internet: The Rise of Livestreaming Funerals

What do you think? Is live streaming funerals an idea whose time has come or should we stay away from these broadcasts?

Share

Recent Posts

What’s It Like to Autopsy Marilyn Monroe?

The most famous coroner on earth may well be Dr. Thomas Tsunetomi Noguchi, who was…

11 months ago

Day of the Dead Takes on the World

The day after Halloween, and the day after that, is Day of the Dead, and…

1 year ago

Grieving for the Terrible Tragedy on Maui

Following on his recent posts regarding deaths by extreme heat, Justin Nobel shares his thoughts…

1 year ago

Death by Extreme Heat is a 21st Century Death

Few parts of the country have been spared from July's soaring temperatures. In fact, July…

1 year ago

Could tiny-brained humans have actually dug graves half a million years ago?

Deep inside a South African cave called Rising Star, scientists have made an incredible discovery—a…

1 year ago

Welcome to A Pacific Island Nation with 125 million people—and almost no gun deaths

Last week, in Nakano City, Japan, an evacuation center was opened in the gymnasium of…

1 year ago