Getting ready for Halloween? Looking for a little something to remember the dead while still remaining culturally relevant? Here’s an idea: Selfies at funerals, a new tumblr full of people taking pictures of themselves at wakes and interments – and posting them on Instagram.
That raises all sort of questions about the way different people develop distinctive strategies to cope with the loss of a loved one… And also, what’s the role of technology in today’s rituals, or how can the management of self image change the way we memorialize the events of a lifetime. And so on.
That makes for hours of conversation with your friends and family. And, if you’re a journalist, maybe that will inspire you to write something which will represent a refreshing departure from the run-of-the-mill news story about ‘the cultural implications of Facebook memorial pages’ (they usually pop up like mushrooms this time of year…)