LibraryScenariosWhen personal sharing on social media becomes performative grief
Scenario

When personal sharing on social media becomes performative grief

I posted a thread about my dad's cancer diagnosis and it got 50,000 likes and now strangers are DMing me their own trauma stories and I feel like I've turned my family's pain into content.

Laozi
Online
The coach is replying

More people experience this than they realize.

What we've seen

The boundary between authentic expression and public performance dissolves when private suffering becomes viral content.

Worth thinking about

“Where Are You with Twitter and X — the politics of outrage?”

If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.