When Social Media Shames a Grieving Mom With Amanda Makulec
Amanda Makulec, a public health data expert, joins Julia to share her heartbreaking story of losing her 3-month-old son. As a researcher, Amanda had written an article regarding the advocacy of Covid vaccines during pregnancy. When her son passed during Covid, there was an instantaneous response on social media blaming Amanda for his death due to taking the Covid vaccine. This episode will make you mad, and it will make you cry, and it will make you see the subjects of social media posts with new compassion. Don’t miss the story of the Makulec family.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[00:00] Julia shares an overview of Amanda Makulec’s story
[03:16] Amanda gives background on her family, career, the articles that got her noticed as a person qualified to discuss Covid data, and the research she read concerning vaccination and pregnancy
[08:12] Julia and Amanda discuss the right and wrong way to approach the topic of losing a child with a grieving parent
[13:26] Amanda is about to give birth to a daughter. She shares a variety of feelings
[18:46] How do you tell your older child what happened to their little brother
[22:28] Grieving is different for everyone. When you should expect support and when you shouldn’t ask
[29:20] The misinformation spread on social media, the suffering it caused, and the timeline of events the week of Zander’s death
[39:42] Publishing the truth in the New York Times
[46.57] Re-posting the lies on social media, but defending it, and how others reading the posts or hearing the story apply it to their own lives
[53:43] Amanda discusses how she answers the complex question of how many children you have
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Be very thoughtful when asking questions of someone who has experienced a loss. Of course, there is no good answer, but ‘How are you?’ isn’t the right question unless you qualify it with ‘How are you today.?’
Passing gossip on social media under the guise that you are being helpful is harmful. Social media can be a dangerous medium when you can remain nameless and faceless.
When a child asks about the death of someone, don’t use metaphors as they went to sleep and didn’t wake up. It is better to be honest with a statement like their body stopped working, they died, and they aren’t coming back.
RESOURCE LINKS:
BIO:
Amanda Makulec is the Senior Data Visualization Lead at Excella, where she coaches teams and develops user-centered data visualization products for federal, non-profit, and private sector clients. Before joining Excella in 2017, Amanda spent eight years working with data in global health programs in more than a dozen countries. She is a founding board member and current Executive Director for the Data Visualization Society and writes about responsible visualization of health data.
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