Chorar os mortos nas redes de amigos da Internet

Na Internet, as redes de amigos manifestam um fenómeno curioso: quando o autor de uma página pessoal morre, os amigos "reúnem-se" nesse espaço para relembrá-lo e trocar expressões de consolo. Normalmente geridas por jovens, estas páginas tornam-se assim um meio para os pais conhecerem melhor os filhos que perderam, através dos seus amigos, de acordo com os testemunhos obtidos pelo New York Times.

O artigo
Web Sites Set Up to Celebrate Life Recall Lives Lost
By WARREN ST. JOHN
Published: April 27, 2006

Like many other 23-year-olds, Deborah Lee Walker loved the beach, discovering bands, making new friends and keeping up with old ones, often through the social networking site MySpace.com, where she listed her heroes as "my family, and anyone serving in the military — thank you!"
So only hours after she died in an automobile accident near Valdosta, Ga., early on the morning of Feb. 27, her father, John Walker, logged onto her MySpace page with the intention of alerting her many friends to the news. To his surprise, there were already 20 to 30 comments on the page lamenting his daughter's death. Eight weeks later, the comments are still coming.
"Hey Lee! It's been a LONG time," a friend named Stacey wrote recently. "I know that you will be able to read this from Heaven, where I'm sure you are in charge of the parties. Please rest in peace and know that it will never be the same here without you!"
Just as the Web has changed long-established rituals of romance and socializing, personal Web pages on social networking sites that include MySpace, Xanga.com and Facebook.com are altering the rituals of mourning. Such sites have enrolled millions of users in recent years, especially the young, who use them to expand their personal connections and to tell the wider world about their lives.

in New York Times - Technology