(NAPSA)—Social networking isn’t just for youths anymore. With Web sites like Facebook.com tacking on 12.4 million people between ages 35 and 49 in 2008 (according to Nielsen), new opportunities are arising that once would be thought of as strange or taboo. William Wellington passed away on November4, 2006 at the fr age of 31. His family was in shock / and his best friend and sister, Garden, was distraught andlost. She needed to feel connected to Garden Logan and her brother, him in some way. She found com- William Wellington. chose to create an online memorial on Tributes.com, never realiz- boomer generation is now entering its 60s. A generation of storytellers, this group has a desire to perpetuate its history and experiences not only for themselves, but for their friends, loved ones, colleagues and classmates. David Kessler, grief specialist for Tributes.com, said online memorials are popular for several fort in a place most would never think to look—the Web. Garden ing all the comfort that would come from that. “In the evenings, when it’s quiet in my home, I go online and read the memories of my brother being shared by friends. The stories and messages of condolence give me live connection to my brother...finding any piece of his life story is like finding gold.” Traditionally, when someone passed away, the announcement would run in the newspaper, and only close friends and family would send their messages of condolence. However, with the ubiq- uity of the Web, grieving is now more than ever a broadly experi- enced social activity, one where there is great comfort taken in the condolences and sharing of memories with friends and family. Web sites like Tributes.com are allow- ing more people to participate in the grieving process by accessing an online guestbook that can be shared with other mourners. The technology-familiar baby reasons. “Public grief, although thought of as a new phenomenon, is not. From man’s earliest records, people gathered together to share a loss in villages and towns. In modern times, with television, radio andthe Internet, we are able to get to know more people in a way we never thought possible. When that person dies, we feel a personalloss, even if he or she is not a memberof our family or a close friend.” Online memorials allow the community to come together and pay tribute, share memories and comfort one another in the grieving and healing process. You can visit William’s tribute by going to tributes.com/william-wellington.
