Exploring the Experiences of Bereaved Parents Who Have Created Digital Memorials

Abstract

The project described in this document seeks to understand the experiences of bereaved parents (N=8) who have used digital media to memorialize their deceased children. The project considers how these bereaved parents have used digital media to create memorials, what their experiences have been, as well as why they have done so. The document includes a literature review to establish a foundation for understanding contemporary ideas and practices related to digital memorialization. This review addresses key ideas related to bereavement studies, provides an understanding of interaction design as a disciplinary context, and considers the ways bereavement-related ideas are being incorporated into research within this discipline. The document also contains a discussion of the phenomenological methodology used in the project. This discussion describes the historical development, philosophical basis, and practical methods of the methodology. The document proceeds with an explanation of the study’s findings. These findings are presented as the master themes that were identified through our analysis of the participants’ interviews. These themes address the technology and media types participants have used to memorialize their children, the ordinary and extraordinary experiences they have endured in the process, and their rationales related to meaning-making and healing for doing so. The document then discusses these themes in light of relevant literature. This discussion includes the research areas of grieving patterns, continuing bonds, meaning-reconstruction, thanatosensitive design, and memorialization. The discussion of each research area includes brief speculations on the implications of the study for future related research. The document concludes with an explanation of the limitations of the study and a reflection on my experience conducting it.