Many people learn of funerals at funeral homes in Macomb, MI through social media. Because social media is an easy platform to let many people know about someone’s death and for people to express their sympathy about someone’s death, it has become a go-to forum for announcing the death of loved ones.

However, just because this may be the easiest way to announce deaths and offer condolences, there are some guidelines that should be followed in how this is done.

The first guideline is that family members should never announce the death of a loved one on social media before they have personally contacted other family members and close friends to let them know that a loved one has died.

It’s becoming more common for immediate and extended family members to get the news that their loved one has died before a family member has called them to personally tell them. The result is often shock and anger from these family members that they found out through social media that someone they loved had died.

So, before anything gets posted on social media (be sure to tell the funeral home when you’re creating an online obituary, because sometimes friends will see the obituary and post it without your knowledge, that you want time before they post the obituary on their website so that you can personally contact the people who need to know), make sure that all family members and close friends get a phone call to let them know your loved one has died.

You don’t have to make all these phone calls yourself. Enlist help so that the burden of making the calls is split up among the people who are available to make them.

Some people wonder if texting or emailing family members and close friends about the death of a loved one is appropriate instead of calling them. The answer is that it depends on how you normally communicate with family members and close friends.

If texting or emailing is your normal method of communication, then it is probably okay in most instances to text or email that your loved one has died. However, all immediate family members should be called and personally told the news.

On the converse side of things, what should you do or not do, as far as social media goes, if you know that a friend’s loved one has died?

If you haven’t seen a social media announcement from the family about the death, then don’t post anything about it. It’s not your story to tell, but your friend’s and their family’s.

If news of the death has been posted on social media by the immediate family, be careful about what you post about the death, especially if the information could be disturbing or painful to the family.

Don’t post cryptic messages that, while not directly referring the death, invite questions from all over the place. There have been instances where a loved one is dying, but has not yet died, but someone posted a cryptic message that people interpreted as meaning the loved one had died. Immediate family members who had not been on social media then got shocking phone calls from people expressing their condolences.

For more information about handling social media from funeral homes in Macomb, MI, our compassionate and experienced staff at Lee-Ellena Funeral Home can help. You can come by our funeral home at 46530 Romeo Plank Rd., Macomb, MI, 48044 or you can contact us today at (586) 412-8999.