It seems like almost every day Twitter breaks out into mass mourning after the passing of one boy band fan or another. This time it’s a male Justin Bieber fan, Drew, who has died after a battle with leukemia.
RIP Drew has been trending on Twitter for most of the day. ‘Beliebers’ act like a family and when a prominent member dies, they mourn him in unison via Twitter. In many cases, they try to get their idol – Bieber himself – to mention the sad news.
While it might seem somewhat trivial, the fact is that Twitter has had a substantial impact on the way that people mourn. In many cases, this manifests as a kind of communal ‘wail’. This ‘wail’ might be articulated via Twitter, but in many ways it’s connected to more traditional forms of mourning.
RIP Drew has been trending on Twitter for most of the day. ‘Beliebers’ act like a family and when a prominent member dies, they mourn him in unison via Twitter. In many cases, they try to get their idol – Bieber himself – to mention the sad news.
While it might seem somewhat trivial, the fact is that Twitter has had a substantial impact on the way that people mourn. In many cases, this manifests as a kind of communal ‘wail’. This ‘wail’ might be articulated via Twitter, but in many ways it’s connected to more traditional forms of mourning.