Who knew people my age have thought so much about obits!
I’ve spent part of my day compiling interviews I’ve been doing with people my age (32-41) about what they like and don’t like when it comes to obituaries in print and online.
Here are some things they said that I find especially interesting:
My interviewees don’t use social media, such as Facebook, to memorialize people. One person said it would be “weird” to see a memorial page there, and on first thought I think so too. My interviewees talked about wanting to remember someone in a more private way, and I’m interested to know if this is a generational thing, or something else.
My interviewees are also unanimously opposed to paying to read archived obituaries, sign guest books, or pay for online obituary services, including paying to have a journalist write an obituary for them. One even expressed disgust at the monetization of the grieving process. I also tend to agree with them, but I don’t agree with putting online content behind pay walls, in general.
Similarly, they were critical of advertising on memorial Web sites. Some thought there shouldn’t be advertising, while others thought it should only be for charities.
I’m really interested to see how my interviews compare to interviews the rest of our group did, and when I find out, I’ll report back.