It goes without saying that funerals are incredibly solemn occasions. It’s baffling that people would even be on their phones, let alone taking selfies while in attendance. Unfortunately, this has recently become a social media trend. An account on Tumblr called selfiesatfunerals began featuring photos, mostly of teenagers, taking pictures of themselves at funerals on the social media site.
Photo captions range from, “You never appreciate what you have until it’s gone. R.I.P Grandpa,” to “Killin’ the selfie game at Pop’s funeral.”
The Tumblr page has been getting a lot of flack for posting the pictures of the seemingly clueless young people. ABC’s Good Morning America had a roundtable discussion where the hosts all agreed that taking a photo before, after or during a funeral is beyond inappropriate.
Now that social media has taken over the day to day lives of the technologically savy, many people find it necessary to document every moment. Most of the photos’ subjects are looking for attention from other social media users by adding hashtags like “#likeforlike” and “#followforfollow.”
Not only is it disrespectful, but the exploitation of these pictures on social media is downright selfish and disturbing.
A word from the wise: when it comes to taking selfies at funerals, don’t do it. Ever.