New Delhi | 30th June 2020: COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed people’s daily lives and routines. More people than ever before are working from home and consuming services online. As a result, subscriptions to digital services have peaked.
When people venture outside, they practice social distancing by maintaining a distance of three feet from others. The government has issued tight guidelines related to social distancing and banned large public gatherings. This ban extends to funerals which today are more sparsely attended than ever before.
In a world ravaged by the pandemic, digital services are playing a significant role in restoring a semblance of normalcy, especially when it comes to bereaving the loss of a loved one.
Online obituaries
To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has issued orders that limit the size of public gatherings. The government’s rules extend even to funerals. As a result, fewer people are attending funerals than would had a ban on public meetings not been in place. While limiting the size of gatherings at funerals is an excellent way to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, it makes it impossible for everyone who wishes, to pay their respects to the departed. Many who would like to bereave with the family and friends of someone who has passed away are not able do so because of the governments orders said Rajkumar Jalan, CEO, Pan India Internet Pvt. Ltd and Co-founder, Tributes.in.
Online obituaries help all the family and friends grieve the passing of a loved one. Such obituaries are dynamic tributes to a deceased person. Through such service, friends and family can share memories of the dead using photos, videos, and writing. Hence an online obituary continues to grow as more and more people share memories of the deceased
Online obituaries have another benefit as well. In India, when there is a death, family members normally post an obituary in a newspaper. This has a drawback. Obituaries posted in newspapers may be missed by a majority of those who would want to pay their respects to the deceased. This is because such obituaries’ are published for just one day. It makes more sense for families to post obituaries online because such obituaries are widely circulated using the India Online Network sites and remain permanently on the internet. Hence, there is a strong likelihood that an online obituary will be seen by those who would want to pay their respects to the dead.
Rajkumar Jalan, CEO, Pan India Internet Pvt. Ltd and Co-founder, Tributes.in says “The advantages of online obituaries don’t end here. Such obituaries can be created in a matter of minutes. The family of a deceased person can post an online obituary in a short period. At a time when family members are facing difficulties, being able to post an obituary online in a matter of minutes is a considerable comfort. Also, a few days before the birthday and date of passing of the deceased, their obituary is shown on the homepage of the website Tributes.in. On such days, family and friends can share more memories of the departed. Hence the dead person’s memory lives on forever.”
The benefits of posting obituaries online don’t end here. As people in India are accustomed to seeing obituaries in newspapers, a link to an online obituary can be shared in an obituary published in a newspaper. Those who see the obituary in the paper can visit the online obituary to pay their respects. Also, an online obituary can be quickly created even by using a smartphone. The site is easy to navigate and use. Those who use the site find they can publish an obituary in minutes.
At a time when social distancing is the norm, digital technologies are compensating for the paucity of traditional services and infrastructure. People are also turning to digital technologies to post obituaries of family members. The benefits of doing so are apparent. An online obituary is more widely circulated than one published in newspapers and remains online forever. The sites where such obituaries are published are highly optimised, which ensures that news of a person’s passing reaches everyone who would want to pay their respects. In short, an online obituary becomes a fitting tribute to the deceased.
