Veteran Nollywood actress, Toyin Alausa, has spoken out against the growing trend of sharing photos and videos of deceased individuals on social media, calling it “disturbing”, “disrespectful”, and “unnecessary”. She questions the motive behind exposing the dead publicly, saying it strips them of dignity and deepens the pain of grieving families.
Alausa urges social media users to show empathy by covering the faces of the deceased, especially in cases of accidents or sudden deaths.
Taking to her Instagram on Monday February 2, she voiced out her grievances:
“The way people just expose the dead on social media these days is so annoying and mind-boggling. What’s the point, actually? Immediately it’s confirmed that someone has passed, the right thing to do is to cover them, at least the face.
It’s about showing respect, offering dignity, and, in a way, providing emotional closure for their relatives This inhumane attitude has sadly become the norm. It may be important to get footage for clarification or when immediate relatives aren’t nearby, but not to be splashed as content on social media. It’s so disrespectful Seeing a blank face devoid of life and emotions can be extremely traumatic. We can do better and be more empathic”.
