TikTok users are sharing personal stories of bereavement under the GriefTok hashtag, creating a movement that has attracted millions of viewers worldwide.
While social networks are traditionally used to display upbeat moments like meeting friends, dining out, and traveling, the online space known as GriefTok has emerged for those mourning mothers, husbands, fiancés, and children.
More than 250,000 videos have been published under the hashtag, providing a platform for grieving individuals seeking an audience that real-life social circles often fail to provide.
Navigating Loss After Tragedy
American blogger Kait Granger posted a video on March 10, 2023, stating that slightly more than three years had passed since her mother was killed and that she did not think she would ever recover.
Granger spent her childhood in fear of her father, who repeatedly beat her mother and mistreated her. After graduating from college in 2019 and moving away, her father shot her mother, set fire to their home, and committed suicide just months later.
Initial support from friends faded, and acquaintances became uncomfortable around her. To appease others, Granger stopped mentioning her mother, enrolled in a master's program to become a clinical psychologist, and got married.
Three years later, feeling unhappy in her marriage and hating her job, Granger posted a clip explaining she felt as though she were rotting from the inside. She stated she had been surviving rather than living and introduced a daily motto of not giving up, taking small steps like showering, applying face cream, making an espresso tonic, and unloading the dishwasher.
Granger's video gained 1.2 million views. Viewers left emotional comments calling her brave and noting her mother would be proud, while others shared their own tragedies, including a user whose father was killed on February 16 and another who found her mother dead in her apartment.
Today, Granger has 338,000 followers, has divorced, lives with a new partner, adopted a dog, taken up cross-stitching, and works remotely. She noted that online strangers offered stronger support than her real-life friends, inspiring followers like Lizzie Sprout, who lost her mother at age 21, to find comfort in daily routines.
Finding Comfort in Bedtime Rituals
Retired American schoolteacher Donna Clements originally created a TikTok account out of boredom, posting about Walmart dresses, eating a burger at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, and reviewing a Netflix romantic comedy.
Her life changed in March 2025 when her husband of over 40 years, former state court prosecutor Patrick, died following an illness. Struggling with evening solitude, Clements revived their long-standing tradition of late-night conversations over snacks.
Clements began sharing evening clips while eating apple slices with peanut butter, chips, or cereal, talking to her followers about her daily activities, such as buying discounted lip gloss or attending her daughter-in-law's birthday dinner.
In her most popular video, which reached 8.2 million views, Clements ate McDonald's fries and a burger. She stated that if she had 30 seconds with Patrick, she would ask how he was doing and tell him she loved and missed him to lighten her heart.
Followers responded warmly, with one calling her their TikTok grandma and another sharing that they ate late-night snacks while remembering a brother who died six months earlier. Clements remarked that while everyone's grief journey is unique, people should not judge themselves harshly as there is no single right way to grieve.
Coping with Sudden Bereavement
Canadian blogger Laura Murphy posted a video, which garnered four million views, explaining that her fiancé had died a month before their wedding and that she was traveling to London on their planned honeymoon alone to see if life was worth living.
Her fiancé, 31-year-old lawyer Devon O'Grady, died suddenly at his workplace from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. Murphy traveled to London, visiting a pub, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, and a bookstore, hoping the trip would give her a focus.
Followers in London reached out, with one inviting her to a concert by English indie-rock musician James Bay and another gifting her a ticket to Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera, based on the novel by Gaston Leroux.
New York writer Jameson Arasi turned to TikTok after his brother Jeff committed suicide days after Thanksgiving on November 24, 2022. Arasi published reflections on loss, noting that grief can manifest in quietness and recommending asking grieving people to talk about their loved ones.
Arasi later compiled his social media posts into a book titled Maybe This Will Help. Meanwhile, American mother Brittany Defer shared the story of her seven-year-old son Bodhi, who died in September 2024 after suffering a febrile seizure in the bathtub while his father stepped away briefly. Her video drew over 12 million views, and she continues to share memories and visits to his grave.
Expert Perspectives on Digital Mourning
Arizona State University social work professor Joanne Cacciatore explained that grieving individuals seek to be seen and validated, noting that while older generations rely on support groups, younger people turn to social media.
Cacciatore referenced a 2015 study indicating that individuals who suppress their emotions experience higher stress, worse life adaptation, and more severe depressive symptoms than those who express pain openly. She cautioned against unsafe advice online, such as drinking wine to sleep, but emphasized that social media benefits outweigh drawbacks when viewed critically.
University of Memphis psychology professor Robert Neimeyer stated that public discussions remove the silence around loss, creating mourning spaces outside traditional therapy offices. He added that the content helps educate others, making it easier for friends to speak openly with widowed acquaintances.
TikTok creator Emily Bingham posted videos demonstrating that grieving people can still smile and have fun, while user rashida_242 emphasized that grief can resurface decades later without shame. Psychologist Zoe Clews affirmed that grief is deeply personal, but shared stories offer reassurance and inspiration.
Clews added that a shared sense of community provides individuals with the strength to endure emotional storms and move forward.
