Abstract:
This research studies the respect for the dead in relation to technological aspects of
memorialization. The focus is on the attitudes prevalent in southern Michigan, using data from
interviews and surveys of funeral directors and memorial webpage participants. This data helps
determine how some aspects of respect for the dead have changed in 21st century Midwestern
America. Consideration is given to the attitudes of funeral industry representatives in terms of both
physical and virtual memorialization of the dead as well as the opinions of members of memorial
webpages contained on the social networking site, Facebook. How respect has changed is evaluated
using individual opinions and their attitudes toward memorialization technology. New memorial
technology has created new rules and perspectives towards the dead, which are shared by both
funeral directors and memorial participants. The newly transitioned perceptions of respect are
supported by a variety of platforms encouraging deeper public thinking and engagement towards the
treatment of the deceased.
