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Email Your Condolences?
from the re:-your-loss dept
What is it with funerals and technology? The funeral industry has this weird love-hate relationship with technology. In the 90s they freaked out when people started selling caskets online and then have had an ongoing debate over the virtues of broadcasting funerals online. More recently, some funeral homes have set up the ability to research and buy a funeral online, but many have said doing so "trivializes" death. Meanwhile, the technology marches forward, and the latest debate appears to be over whether or not it's okay to send condolences via email. Some think it's nice, while other think it's not very personal. I think it really depends on how close you are to the deceased. Clearly, if you're close, then a more personal gesture makes sense. However, if not, then just getting an email from someone who the deceased touched in some way would probably be meaningful to his or her family.
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I read other articles about how the "death industry" is changing. Traditionally when grandma/dad/etc. died, you got a large bill and paid it - and being in grief, worrying about probate, etc., no one did research and you paid what you got.
The internet, like other industries, puts the ultimate buyer and seller closer together - or at least arms consumers with more information - so costs should come down.
As the internet becomes part of everyday life for as the boomers age and attitudes towards death change, there will be many things happening that would not have been acceptable just a few years ago. Besides email condolences, we already have a steady increase in cremation, which was not that common just a few decades ago.
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