Online Funerals – Will They Change Our Traditional Ways?
Planning a funeral is a difficult experience, you are in a challenging position and as a loved one, the last thing you want to do is arrange a funeral. We all need time to grieve, but someone must plan the ceremony to ensure your loved one gets the best possible send off. In today’s digital age, online funerals have become an option for families, but will they change our traditional ways?
Digital Age
There was a time when most funeral directors did not even have a website, now you will find that all of them have an online presence and some of them have easy to navigate, informative sites such as https://www.familyfuneralservices.com.au/. If you have to plan a funeral or you want to know more about a specific arrangement, many of these sites have useful blogs and other resources.
The ‘Virtual’ Funeral
Although traditional funerals are still the most popular, online funerals have taken off. We have family and friends all over the world, some find it difficult to make it home when a loved one passes. If they cannot afford to get home or the distance is just too great, they can now live stream the funeral online.
Due to certain circumstances, people have to politely excuse themselves from attending the funeral of a deceased family member or friend. With online services, they can still log in online and sit through the service without being physically present.
The Process
An online funeral is different to a traditional funeral, but you still have people in attendance. The main difference is that there are cameras set up around the ceremony to capture everything that is going on in real time.
Whoever cannot attend is given a password and they can log into the life stream and watch the ceremony. The web cast usually stays online for up to 30 days for people who cannot participate in the live stream.
Traditional Funerals
Although technology will continue to change the way we live, it is hard to see people moving away from a traditional funeral setting. Attending a funeral in person gives loved ones a chance to say goodbye. They also get to mourn their loss with family and friends, giving each other support through a challenging period.
Coming together in a traditional setting, also has a number of other benefits that an online funeral does not, such as:
- Chance to share memories and connect with people you have not seen for a long time.
- Provides a structured activity during a disorientating time.
- Time to celebrate a loved one’s life in person.
- It reinforces the reality of death and helps to start the healing process
Technology will continue to reshape the way we mourn the death of a loved one. Using online streams to watch a funeral when you cannot attend in person is a positive feature. Even if we would have liked to be there, it isn’t always possible. But traditional funeral ceremonies will never change to the point where no one attends, and the only mourners are online.
