It has always been tricky to help someone who is grieving. The entire process is so painful, and it can be hard sometimes to discern whether an action will help or hurt the bereaved. With all the modern technology that has made everybody's life better, there are some drawbacks and challenges. Helping someone grieve in the modern age presents a whole new slew of etiquette dilemmas and issues that require sensitivity to handle. Here are some tips for helping loved ones grieve within the realm of modern technology.

Share the Positive

If the deceased person wrote to you glowingly of their friends and families via email, that can be a really powerful thing. The emails that remain behind allow you to look again into their thoughts and feelings. While you clearly don't want to share emails that included venting about family issues, gathering some lovely quotes from emails can be empowering and comforting for the ones who are hurting the most. Rather than copying and pasting the glowing words to send in an email to the bereaved, call them up or read it to them in person.

Do Not Flood the Person's Social Media

Social media is not the place where you should openly express your grief for someone you didn't know well. If you are among the ones who were closest to the deceased, it's of course okay to express your feelings in any way you like. However, if you are outside the circle of those who were closest to the deceased, let them lead the way. Don't even mention the death on social media unless they initiate doing so, and definitely don't refer to funeral arrangements. They may not want to publicly share or deal with the pain. Some people simply use social media for business purposes or for casual chit chat.

Reach Out in Multiple Ways

A cool thing about having email, multiple social media pages, phone numbers, instant message apps, and more is that they provide you with the chance to communicate in fun and different ways with those you love. They can also be used in sad times to reach out and show you care. Without specifically mentioning the death, unless it is appropriate to do so for your situation, reach out to the person via a different method each day. Even if they are not as responsive in their grief, your efforts will not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

Finally, keep in mind that technology will continue to improve and evolve. Facebook now allows you to designate someone who can be left in charge of your memorialized page when you pass away. As technology simply becomes more intertwined in our daily existence, utilizing it to help loved ones with grief will become easier. In the meantime, do the best you can and always express your sincere feelings no matter which form of technology you're using to communicate.

If you're going to be helping your loved one with the funeral arrangements, contact a funeral home like Maddox Funeral Home, Inc for more information.