Recently, various hashtags associated with funerals have been trending across social media — more specifically Instagram. Users have been posting pictures of their funeral attendance accompanied by the hashtags such as #FuneralService #Graveyard #Funeral #FuneralVibes.

#FuneralVibes? Really?

In an opinion piece from Rea KhoabaneE and Azizzar Mosupi on Times Live, the two question whether social media is breaking down traditions and morality in the hope of gaining more likes: Are we swapping out the mourning of our loved ones for the celebration of social media?

On photo-sharing site Instagram, a search for #Graveyard yielded 546838 posts, #Funeral had 274816 posts and #FuneralVibes had 1065 posts.

Recently we were surprised by a young girl who candidly documented her father’s entire funeral through selfies on social media. From the doek that culture requires her to wear, to her puffy eyes, the whole mourning process was laid bare. Having gone through the trauma of losing our own fathers, this carefree display made us wonder if social media has made us so narcissistic that we have lost all respect for life’s most intimate moments.

Although one could argue that this is no different from filming the funeral procession, including eulogies, are candid selfies at all on the same level? The focus shifts from the deceased to the “look how cute I am” individual. Are people’s “likes” expressions of sympathy or “liking” that the fact that your loved one is dead? And which is more important?

Recently the people’s favourite, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, posted a photo by the graveside. His #FuneralService had 16371 likes. So, it’s not just the ordinary person who has succumbed to the temptation.

This phenomenon is also not uniquely South African. It’s everywhere. Deniseltl21 from Malaysia stands out. She posted on Instagram using the hashtag #FuneralService a picture of an open casket of a relative.

One800Slum from Canada put up a selfie with a friend looking posh next to a casket. One person was so disturbed by the picture they left a comment slamming the two for “voguing”.

Imagine being known as that #FuneralVibes person.

[source: timeslive]