How And Why The Funeral Industry Is Undergoing A Change

 

Death is a topic that makes most people uncomfortable, but it is a topic that we have to face one day or another. The public perception of how we see death and the funeral industry has changed in recent years and now people are more open to discussing their funeral before they are actually dead. In fact, there are many funeral homes and funeral directors in Miami, FL who encourage people to make a guideline on how their funeral should be done. But what is driving these changes in the funeral industry? Read below to know more.

 

One professor who has done extensive research on this area claims that the way Americans view death has dramatically changed in the last 50 years. Take for example the trend of selecting cremation over burial. In the 1960s a mere 4% of Americans used to cremate their loved one and today the number is a staggering 44%! It is estimated that by 2030, 70% of Americans will be choosing cremation over burial for themselves or their loved one. The main reason that is driving this change is the cost factor, burial costs way more than cremation. Plus, with cremation, the mourning family have more control over where the funeral can be held. And with many places running out of the suitable ground for burial, cremation is becoming the need of the hour when it comes to the funeral.

 

Another reason why the attitude towards death and funeral industry has changed so much the last few decades is that there has been a huge shift in how we handle grief. Till the middle of the last century, grieving was held to be a very private emotion and those who exhibited in public were frowned upon. We knew the death of a loved one from the grieving family or if it was an acquaintance, it was through newspaper obituaries. Then we visited them to convey our condolences or visited them at their graveside. We did not voice our grief in public and unless it was the death of someone famous, people didn’t have any memorials or commemorations.

 

But the surge of social media, this communication form changed drastically. Today many of us know about the death of someone they know or even someone in their family through Facebook or other social media sites. It is common for people to show their support for the grieving family by replying under such posts rather than visiting them at home or at the cemetery. We talk and show our grief openly even when we didn’t know a person in social media. , people often gather around memorials or RIP murals to show their grief. Some even get tattoos in memory of their loved ones.

 

Sustainability and environmental issues is another factor that is driving the changes we see in the funeral industry today. Embalming is going out of fashion as people are more aware of how bad it is for the environment and for the funeral industry workers involved in it. Which is why people talk to their funeral directors in Miami, FL about natural burial where the body decomposes into the ground. Even traditional cemeteries are waking up to these changes and earmarking areas for natural burial as well as a scattering of ashes or burial of urns.