RIP ‘RIP’: we need to be more creative with mourning in the digital age

Rest in peace. That three-word phrase, expressing a sincere hope that the dead will find peace in the afterlife, is a fitting inscription for a tombstone, and now a very popular hashtag on social media. The deeply sad news this morning that the actor Lynda Bellingham had died was met with a flood of tributes from friends and colleagues. Thousands of people who had never met her also joined in on social media networks such as Twitter, making the top trend in the UK.

This article focuses on the popularity of the word 'RIP' in the social media which means rest in peace which refers to the prayers of the dead finding peace in the afterlife. This article also mentions that the hash tag of RIP and the persons name that has died has had an increase in terms of the usage. I can see how “rest in peace” would be a desperate hope for the dead from the living, but we have more options. If the internet allows us all to participate in collective mourning, then it should also demand that we do so more creatively.