Defining oneself in mourning on digital platforms

This article examines the publicization of mourning on social media. Considering publication both as a digital trace that contributes to the development of an identity of mourning, and as a relational sign (Cardon, 2009), the study explores the normative tensions at the intersection of mourning and digital practices. It looks at normative reconfigurations through the notion of mourning hierarchies (Robson and Walter, 2012) on various digital platforms, using a mixed methodology that includes a lexicometric analysis of 1,022 mourning posts and 82 qualitative interviews. The results suggest a normative transformation around online mourning practices, as well as a visibilization of mourning that depends on the sociabilities of each platform.