Can death be casual: the paradox in Death Café blogs

ABSTRACT

Death can be a difficult matter to talk about in face-to-face conversations. However, online platforms provide a safe space for people to express feelings and opinions freely. This paper is an attempt to explore how the taboo of discussing death in a casual manner is approached by individuals in an online space. The Death Café blogs were an apt starting point for this study as the movement itself is centred on fostering casual discussions around death and its related matters. A total of 200 blogs posted on the website were studied, and the major themes were identified and analysed. By highlighting the prominent themes that emerge through a careful reading of the blogs, the study foregrounds the paradox in the assumption that liberating conversations about death and dying (as seen in the Death Café blogs and the responses) can invariably mitigate the fear of death and break the death taboo.

KEYWORDS:

• Death Café
• mortality
• grief
• end-of-life
• paradox

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anuja Jose

Anuja Jose is currently a research scholar at the Department of Humanistic Studies, IIT (BHU), Varanasi. She earned her Masters in English Literature from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala and M.Phil in English from the University of Madras, Tamil Nadu. Her interests lie in Gender and Ritual Studies of South Asia.

Shweta Singh

Shweta Singh completed her PhD in communication studies under the merit fellowship of University Grants Commission. She was a Fellow at Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy, Ashoka University and has taught at Banaras Hindu University and University of Allahabad as a Visiting Faculty. Her research interest lies in studying the constantly evolving interplay between people, media and societies. She has published nine research papers, a full length project report and has also created learning modules for E-PG Pathshala under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. She is currently associated with TheCSRUniverse- a specialised media platform for in-depth reporting on CSR, ESG and philanthropy in South Asia.

Vinita Chandra

Vinita Chandra is Associate Professor in the Department of Humanistic Studies, IIT (BHU). Previously, she was Assistant Professor and Assistant Director at the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Banaras Hindu University. She has been Visiting Professor/ Guest Lecturer/ Visiting Fellow to the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University; Kalamazoo College of Liberal Arts, Michigan, USA; School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University; Centre for Postcolonial Education; The Alliance for Global Education and Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi. Chandra specializes in the fields of History and Anthropology of India. She has been consistently interested in Gender Studies. She has published two books and research papers in academic journals.