In life, we are faced with the challenge of learning to grieve the passing of people in our lives.
These people passing brings up a lot of complex emotions for a variety of people, and how they deal with these emotions are all valid forms of grieving.
This year, there have been two individuals whose passing had created a large stir on social media in the circles that I operate in.
The first individual was Kobe Bryant, a basketball player whose death was very unexpected and caused both people who were fans and those who were not, to grieve together.
The second individual was Caroline Flack, a television presenter from the United Kingdom, known for her work on the UK versions of both The X-Factor and Love Island.
These two individuals had a large impact on people as they were part of a culture that media consumers are exposed to daily.
From elementary school to now, if you were to say anything while trying to throw something into a garbage can, you can bet that it would be “Kobe”.
Caroline Flack was someone people would see weekly as she was such a prevalent presenter, and even those who are not living in the United Kingdom knew of her.
These two people, while greatly loved by many, also faced some scrutiny within their careers.
In 2011, Flack dated musician Harry Styles, which was a big controversy: she was 32 years old and he was 17 years old fresh off of The X-Factor.
A lot of people started to point out after her death that regardless of how consensual the relationship was, it was still inappropriate and her passing should not allow us to forget what she did.
After seeing similar tweets the day she passed away, I was shocked that many people were unsympathetic to those who were mourning, constantly reminding people of the past mistakes the individuals had made. Especially considering the circumstances surrounding the way that she passed.
A similar situation occurred when Bryant passed away in January.
On social media, the day that he had died people brought up charges that were placed on the basketball player in 2003.
I am not here saying that these charges should not be brought up, but I think it is important to remember that people are people, and in a time where a family was grieving the loss of their father, I was shocked that people were so unsympathetic
People make mistakes, and I am not condoning those mistakes in the slightest.
I believe in the time of social media we have become very apathetic to people.
Since our world is so connected, I feel as though we often forget that there are real people behind the screens who see and experience pain through tweets made after their loved ones have passed.
I am definitely not here saying that these mistakes need to be forgotten.
I am saying that because families and loved ones of the individuals have access to Twitter, tweeting hateful things about people are not helping those who are in the process of grieving.
We should take a step back and allow the grieving process to at least begin.
