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How to Write Anything
How to Say the Right Thing Online When Someone Dies
Here’s how to express sympathy and grief on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or anywhere
This story is part of Forge’s How to Write Anything series, where we give you tips, tricks, and principles for writing all the things we write in our daily lives online, from tweets to articles to dating profiles.
When someone famous dies, first come the tweets. “RIP” after “RIP.” Strings of broken heart emojis. Maybe a few “NOOOOOOO!”s. It’s a digital gasp, expressing pure emotion.
Then you start seeing more substantive messages. Anecdotes. Specific memories. Photos. Within hours, thoughtful Instagram eulogies are posted.
Little Richard felt more legendary than human before he died. Upon his death, when virtually every musician in the world took to social media to express their grief and admiration — even Bob Dylan fired up Twitter — he became real and embodied.
Like any eulogy, online tributes to the deceased — on sympathy walls, on Facebook, on Instagram — give voice to our grief but…
