What fan culture and mourning can teach us about grief

By Susan Cadell, Professor, Social Work, University of Waterloo
Stephanie Levac, Research Coordinator, School of Social Work, University of Waterloo

When a celebrity dies, there is often an outpouring of grief from their fans. This sense of grief can often be even stronger when the person dies young. In October 2024, there was an outpouring of grief from fans when former One Direction singer Liam Payne died.

Grief is the reaction to any kind of loss. It is most often associated with bereavement (the death of a person) and mourning (the expression of grief when someone dies). However, it can be difficult to talk about grief at any age as we live in a death-…

Read complete article

~	2025: The year we decide the internet's future

~	Beach shacks are an iconic part of Australian summer. Yet, they also have a hidden, more complex history

~	‘Cold violence’ – a hidden form of elder abuse in New Zealand’s Chinese community

~	(Literally) moving house: how home relocations can help address the housing crisis

~	Parental leave paradox: Why women who take longer leaves face career penalties in men-dominated fields

~	New excavation of ‘rings of mystery’ in Victoria reveals rich Aboriginal history

~	Huge if true – dark energy doesn’t exist, claims new study on supernovas

~	Blood, urine and other bodily fluids: how your leftover pathology samples can be used for medical research

~	World News in Brief: Deadly China quake, Killings of Alawites in Syria, executions in Iran, CAR rights defenders, finance and food crises

~	Beach shacks are an iconic part of Australian summer. Yet, they have also have a hidden, more complex history