Tila Tequila and the end of grieving in private

SLF says:

09:05am | 12/01/10

Perhaps the greatest sadness is that as a society we actually care about the sensless posting of people on a microblogging service such as twitter. I mean who really cares what anyone is up to so much that they hand onto 140 characters of drivel they post about the most mundane daily activites, or about things that they are doing that are supposed to make themselves superior to others. The only reasons these paople post their grief is to show they are gireving so their ‘fans’ think of them as human. Pathetic.

However, imho the saddest thing of all is that we live in such a pathetic, attention seeking society where the culture of celebrity (used in the loosest possible term) is far more important to the average Joe than what is happening across major issues that will have a direct impact on their future existence. 

I had never heard of Ms Johnson, Ms Tequila or any of the peopel involved in the tradgedy, yet on most Australian media sites is was published as front page news and remains for some bizarre reason to be considered important. We live in a truly mixed up world.

Mike says:

09:10am | 12/01/10

Here here. Its hard to read these tweets as anything other than some sort of misguided claim on a share of the grieving process.

Doesn’t feel right that the first thing you reach for when you lose a loved one is your mobile phone.

I can’t imagine what type of support Tila Tequila thinks she is going to get from her outreach. Reading through what she has written, I don’t think its cynical to conclude that its just another call for publicity and exposure.

Jimbo Jones says:

09:24am | 12/01/10

‘Lindsay Lohan, DJ Samantha Ronson, Paris Hilton and Tila Tequila’ – that reads like a list of 00 has-beens. With friends like those it’s no wonder that they’re using the opportunity of Johnson’s death to promote themselves a bit.  I don’t find it particularly shocking or sad (the above listed have happily prostituted their lives for pay/attention previously so why not prostitute their friends death for exactly the same purpose).  Twitter - it strikes me - certainly helps to validate ones own sense of self importance (kinda like posting comments at a website). Not so much a case of the death of private grieving as it is the never-ceasing continuance of the ‘farce of celebrity self importance’.  Getting a bit old now innit…

James says:

09:34am | 12/01/10

“Casey, Nicki and I,” writes Paris Hilton.  I must say, I am impressed by her correct grammar.  I would not have thought she had it in her.

Liz says:

09:35am | 12/01/10

Yes inded, so sad.Dies anyone think of that poor adopted child Ava whose been depreived of 2 mothers now?

cats says:

10:04am | 12/01/10

How about we let people grieve the way they want to grieve, or the way they feel most comfortable. I have known a couple of people my age who have died, and many of my friends have posted tributes all over myspace and facebook. But i bet none of you would insult them for doing so, why? Because they are not celebrities. FFS celebrities are people with feelings too. The world is changing since you were young. It’s time for you people to get over it and get on with your own life.

SLF says:

10:06am | 12/01/10

Right…had much more of a play around with Twitter and decided sod it…

Today I am launching Megaphone 2.0!

Megaphone 2.0 is a hand portable decive that enables users to tell the world what they are doing in real time, all of the time! No more sound free tweeting! No more 140 character limits! Plus with the new ‘Town Crier’ plug in Megaphone 2.0 enables you to broadcast local news as well as your own inane ramblings.

‘I AM TYPING AT MY COMPUTER’
I WILL SHORTLY BE GOING FOR A CUP OF TEA’
‘I MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE A SANDWICH AT LUNCHTIME’

Megaphone 2.0, it is the future.

Sadhbh Warren says:

10:49am | 12/01/10

I have been totally distracted into giggles by SLF’s comment above.

SLF, Megaphone 2.0, is indeed the future. Can we get it Vegemite flavoured?

Millsy says:

12:12pm | 12/01/10

“The world is changing since you were young. It’s time for you people to get over it and get on with your own life”
That’s a wind up comment, surely?
Worst thing about Twitter, Facebook, & internet forums in general, is that you can be anyone you want. No one knows what you look like, how you talk, or whether you’re even sincere, so you can post anything you like. These “celebrities”, & no doubt others, too, are probably being wound up by people having a laugh at their expense.
It’s great having all this technology, but I wonder if we’re not paying a huge price socially.

Kelly says:

12:23pm | 12/01/10

As much as I am laughing along with SLF and the Megaphone 2.0, there’s actually an overwhelming of judgement about this article. Perhaps it is not a cry for help from this Tequilla woman (never heard of her before myself!) but simply a clumsy expression of her emotions.

A friend of mine died on the 23rd of December. Like many others, I placed a notice in the paper. I sure kept the word count low to avoid paying a fortune and it was a public expression of my grief to no one in particular. How is this different from twitter? Is it just because that is more socially acceptable because it is a newspaper?

I sympathise when anyone loses someone and am always sadended when others try to tell them how to grieve. I’ve also attended a funeral where the mother and sisters of the dead threw themselves over the coffin and wailed. I was mortified and am sure I cringed - I couldn’t believe how tacky that was. On reflection, I realise it is just a different way of expressing grief.

And finally, about twitter. Can everyone just relax about it? It is just another channel of communication - it is NOT the end of the world, it is NOT a symptom of a self-absorbed generation collapsing, it is NOT the end of personal interaction between people, it is just an internet site!!!!

SLF says:

01:28pm | 12/01/10

@ Kelly I think the difference is who is making the grief statement and their motives.

Your placing an ad in a paper seems respectul, as would posting something on someones facebook page or tweeting to your friends about it. The paper ad is traditional and goes to the wider audience, the facebook or tweet is not, but in your instance probably goes to people who know you.

The difference is publishing your grief online for millions who you do not know to share in it seems somehow a little crass. It apears to a horrible cynic like myself that it is not a rememberance of the dead, but more of a look at me statement….

Lil Kimmy says:

10:42pm | 12/01/10

To cats and the other twitter y-gen pains in the bum - perhaps funerals in grown up land (upon achieving at least adolescence) can be broadcast over facebook and when you are all grown ups, you can all give some healthy e-hugs to the relevant grieving individuals. A much more sound and non-confronting form of grieving, I’m sure you would agree, than one throwing themselves over a coffin or requiring any human contact or emotion…yeah heaps better.