Bittihautakiviä ja pikselimuistomerkkejä

In her article the author reviews the preliminary results of her doctoral thesis, in which she asks why online memorials are being created. Is the privatization of mourning becoming more public in the 21st century? Does the popularity of internet mourning tell us more about the coherent internet culture or about the diffusion of the American (commercialized) death culture? The author’s methods are virtual anthropological and her research material consists of participant observation, three queries, online interviews, video and screenshot documents. The material was collected during 2007 and 2011. The research results indicate that the Web has given new possibilities for experiencing communal support through different applications, such as Facebook, virtual memorial websites, online (role-playing) games, blogs and discussion forums. The Web has increasingly become a larger part of people’s everyday lives, enabling virtual bereavement, loss and honouring. Sharing memories, photos and videos with the family and friends makes these virtual memorials an important part of the mourning process. Privacy is often concerned, but seldom executed properly. The publicity of the memorials is justified by the notion of giving information. The results also indicate that virtual memorials are a culture on their own, independent from geographical, cultural and national boundaries, and constitute a part of internet sociality