Human-Computer Interaction in Times of Grief: Unveiling Support Processes Among COVID-19 Affected Users in a Facebook Group Through Netnography

During the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, social distancing hindered mourners in their help-seeking. A netnographic approach was employed to investigate grief and empathy expressions on a Facebook support group, created for the purpose and moderated by a psychologist. Participants (23 Females, 2 Males) knew about the research and co-participated in the improvement of the group experience. The virtual space was used by group members with two different purposes: some mainly vented their anger but others created a new and coherent narration of their loss. Differently from other peer-to-peer support groups, users supported each other continuously and in some cases took up the role of moderators. The results shed light on continuous peer support and user-driven moderation dynamics, advancing our understanding of online groups moderated by professionals. The study also prompts reflection on distinct aspects of grieving on social media during the initial 2 years of the pandemic.