Citation

Cumiskey KM, Hjorth L. Death Stud. 2019; 43(7): 414-425.

Affiliation

School of RMIT University , Melbourne , Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07481187.2018.1541940

PMID

30596358

Abstract

Mobile and social media have progressively become vessels for manifesting death and dying in our everyday lives. This article investigates the visual nature of social mobile media as "affective witnessing" by analyzing mobile media use during the 12th June 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando Florida (USA). How mobile media serve as witnesses and companions in this tragedy is demonstrated through analyzing first-person accounts, police body cam footage, 911 transcripts and online social media posts. This analysis reveals how mobile communication complicates situational awareness during mass trauma while also playing an important role in processing loss.

Language: en