Psychiatrist Analyzes if Grief Trend on TikTok, Where Kids Dance at Funerals, is Healthy or Not

Grief Trend TikTok tiktok videos crying selfie funerals sickness death social media influencer funeral cortege Dr. Mimi Winsberg raw emotions Rohit Thawani The Hopeless Show Grief Trend on TikTok

By Lili Scott , Parent Herald Feb 05, 07:31 am

Photo: (Photo : EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images)

Some millennials on TikTok are drawing shock and surprise for behaving unconventionally and displaying unusual emotions over sickness, death, or loss in videos shared on the platform. Dubbed the grief trend, these videos show the kids dancing or lip-syncing while a relative is in a funeral casket or a hospital deathbed.

In 2021, a 21-year-old woman and her 12-year-old sister uploaded a video where they rapped to a Soulja Boy hit facing their mother's open casket. The sisters said in the caption that they would be rapping until their mother came back from the dead. It also showed them laughing at their antics, which ticked off some viewers.

The sisters' video reached more than 16 million views and 83,000 shares. However, most of the comments questioned why they could still rap and laugh during a time of mourning.

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Backlash for Grief Videos

Last year, a young mother also received backlash for dancing at the neonatal intensive care unit where her newborn was quite sick with RSV. She deleted the video after netizens commented that her dancing was inappropriate but explained that she was only trying to stay positive while taking care of her baby.

A social media influencer also got a bad rap for doing a photoshoot next to her father's coffin. Following the fury from the public, she told NBC News that her father "would have approved" of what she did and said that it was her way of dealing with her loss.

In the Philippines, TikTok users had their mouths agape as they watched a funeral cortege of a 29-year-old woman. Her family was not playing religious music but loud remixes and hits of local bands, and everyone was dancing. Netizens were appalled that the family disrespected the dead, but the mother said this was her daughter's dying wish, per Vice.

Billions of Views for Grief Trend on TikTok

According to In The Know, TikTok videos with #grief garner more than 1.9 billion views. While there are followers who condemn the videos, viewers applaud those who openly share their raw emotions.

Psychiatrist Dr. Mimi Winsberg said that posting grief videos on social media might boil down to their need to connect to others as they process what they are going through, especially during this pandemic when visits to funerals are restricted. She also noted that crying selfies, another facet of this grief trend, have increased in recent years.

The expert said that every generation or culture develops ways of relating to their community. So, while this grief trend might seem strange for some age groups, it doesn't immediately make it bad behavior. It could even be considered a healthy practice.

Rohit Thawani of "The Hopeless Show" podcast said that these videos on TikTok might mirror a dystopian future, but he acknowledged the "optimism and openness" of the people who put their emotions on display. They are sending a message that it's OK to be in touch with one's feelings, together with the public.