Unthinking Updates Offend Family

Dear Cyber Sorter,
My great grandmother died last month at the age of 95. She wasn’t the easiest of women but she was loved and looked after by all of us in our extended family.
She was very wealthy.
My second cousin had moved in with her a few years ago to look after her and had seemed very close to her.
I have just found out that the very next day after my great grandmother died my second cousin wrote the following Facebook update.
“Granny died last night :-(. Today I’m going shopping :-).” The family is in uproar.
JS

Dear JS,
Time and again people update their status, forgetting that they have friended family and work colleagues. Your cousin’s actions display a complete lack of moral, ethical and diplomatic judgment. However, they also give you a valuable insight into her motives and her true feelings about the while episode.
In consolation, your great grandmother is beyond being hurt (and likely had an inkling anyway) by your cousin’s lack of sincerity in the face of her demise.
Also, it can be hard to fully translate the tone of an update. It is possible for most of us to be genuinely saddened by the death of a family member and at the same time be consoled by an inheritance. After all, ’tis the season for retail therapy.