Grieving College Students Use of Social Media

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of social media among grieving college students. A total of 508 students participated in a survey about their experiences with grieving a loss, the grief effects they experienced, and their use of social media. Approximately 79% of participants experienced a loss within their lifetime and reported having emotional, cognitive, and physical grief effects. Of these participants, 43% used social media to communicate their grief. Participants who reported emotional, cognitive, and physical grief effects were more likely to communicate their grief on social media. Furthermore, 108 open-ended comments about social media use were analyzed and categorized according to The Bereavement and Social Media Use Continuum. Findings indicate that 60% of participants reported using social media in a limited capacity followed by 39% of participants who used social media in a vast capacity. Implications and recommendations for future research are also provided.