It鈥檚 safe to say that 2016 has taken a toll on pop culture. It began in January with the loss of singer David Bowie to cancer, and ended this week 鈥� hopefully -- with the deaths of 鈥楽tar Wars鈥� actress Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds.

Now a persistent theme has cropped up on social media - the call to dump this 鈥榙umpster fire鈥� of a year that has claimed some of our most beloved icons. University of Colorado Associate Professor of Media Studies Rick Stevens spoke with 皇冠网址 about why so many of us are taking these losses personally.

鈥淒avid Bowie is a huge loss for people who love music or who grew up listening to certain messages within that music,鈥� Stevens said. 鈥淭hat kind of loss affects people very personally.鈥�

Stevens, whose research focused on one of the first 鈥渕ass-mediated鈥� grieving events - the 1963 televising of the funeral procession for President John F. Kennedy, said the impact of these cultural moments has been amplified by the reach of social media.

Interview Highlights

On why celebrity deaths impact us the way they do

Stevens: I think it鈥檚 similar to losing a family member in the sense that the feeling of loss is connected to how our own internal identity is shifting as well as the missing of the person themselves, but the feeling is amplified across different groups who shared those experiences. The community loses something when someone commonly appreciated departs, and the impulse to honor them and mourn is related to that perceived loss of connection among the surviving members of the community.

On mass grieving on Facebook

Stevens: I think it鈥檚 very positive. I mean, when I have friends to share it with and all of the sudden we鈥檙e all listening to George Michael songs this week, there鈥檚 something cathartic. There鈥檚 a way we鈥檙e moving some of these icons from a sense of loss into the legacies that they鈥檙e going to have. Now, whether it鈥檚 healthy culturally that we鈥檙e obsessing about these things鈥� I think we鈥檙e just going to have to wait and see.

On the eventual 鈥榞ive it a rest鈥� reaction

Stevens: If all of the sudden all of this content that doesn鈥檛 affect me the way that it affects other people gets pushed into the network, I think it causes a backlash - kind of a knee-jerk backlash of 鈥楾his is my space,鈥� but also, 鈥楥an we please get some perspective?鈥橝nd I think that鈥檚 a very natural thing to happen, and that鈥檚 also part of the cultural grieving process.