Funeral directors warn mourners to stop taking selfies next to caskets as tasteless trend sees Instagram users FACE SWAP with dead relatives

  • Quebec's corporation of funeral directors told mourners to stop taking selfies
  • Its president says it has implemented 'strict rules'  at parlors to stop them
  • He says the deceased's relatives don't want to see the images on social media
  • The tasteless trend has swept social media and has Tumblr pages dedicated to it

By Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com

Published: 09:34 EST, 9 February 2017 | Updated: 10:36 EST, 9 February 2017

Funeral directors have warned mourners to stop taking selfies next to caskets. 

Quebec's corporation of funeral directors says it is trying to put an end to the tasteless trend which sees photographs of dead bodies splashed on social media.

There are 'strict rules' in place at parlors across the region to stop the spread of casket selfies but mourners must take it upon themselves to refrain, it says. 

'There won't be a 'selfie police,' Dennis Desrochers told Radio Canada, as he explained how directors were debating how best to educate mourners on appropriate behavior.Funeral directors in Canada have warned mourners to stop posing next to caskets and at memorial services

Funeral directors in Canada have warned mourners to stop posing next to caskets out of respect for the deceased's relatives. The tasteless trend continues to grow and now sees some mourners applying a face swap filter with their dead loved ones (above) 

Funeral directors in Canada have warned mourners to stop posing next to caskets out of respect for the deceased's relatives. The tasteless trend continues to grow and now sees some mourners applying a face swap filter with their dead loved ones (above) 

'In many funeral parlours we have very clear rules around limiting selfies or we tell the public that the families don't want selfies,' he said. 

The trend has has swept social media in recent years, with scores of inappropriate Instagram and Twitter pictures appearing under the hashtag 'funeral' or 'wake'.

Most limit their photographs to mirror selfies of their appropriately solemn outfits. 

Some take it further, posing next to their loved one's open casket while paying their respects.

The trend is not limited to mourners. One funeral director in Texas sparked fury among clients after posing with their dead relative's closed caskets to promote his business on social media.  

The tasteless trend has swept social media recently. Above, a man poses with next to his grandmother's open casket

The tasteless trend has swept social media recently. Above, a man poses with next to his grandmother's open casket

'Yeah I'm sick': One unidentified man posed with his grandmother in a funeral snap (left) while another simply told Instagram followers '#funeralselfie' as he shared his photograph
'Yeah I'm sick': One unidentified man posed with his grandmother in a funeral snap (left) while another simply told Instagram followers '#funeralselfie' as he shared his photograph (right)

'Yeah I'm sick': One unidentified man posed with his grandmother in a funeral snap (left) while another simply told Instagram followers '#funeralselfie' as he shared his photograph (right)

Another Instagram user posed with her late pet while digging its grave 

Another Instagram user posed with her late pet while digging its grave 

Others limit their photographs to mirror selfies of their solemn outfits. One Mexican social media star sparked fury last year by taking a selfie inside the church (left)
Others limit their photographs to mirror selfies of their solemn outfits. One Mexican social media star sparked fury last year by taking a selfie inside the church (left)

Others limit their photographs to mirror selfies of their solemn outfits. One Mexican social media star sparked fury last year by taking a selfie inside the church (right)

The trend also spawned the Selfies at Funerals Tumblr page. 

It argues that because President Barack Obama posed for a smiling selfie with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt and former British prime minister David Cameron at Nelson Mandela's funeral service, regular mourners should feel no shame in taking their own photographs.

'Obama has taken a funeral selfie, so our work here is done,' Tumblr creator Jason Feifer said of it. 

A brother and sister pose for another selfie at their grandfather's funeral. Sharing it online, one of the siblings celebrated their 'good genes' 

A brother and sister pose for another selfie at their grandfather's funeral. Sharing it online, one of the siblings celebrated their 'good genes' 

One Instagram user showed off his funeral look, snapping a selfie while wearing sunglasses at his cousin's memorial service (left). Another man took to the social network to thank the florist which provided blooms for his grandmother's funeral (right)
One Instagram user showed off his funeral look, snapping a selfie while wearing sunglasses at his cousin's memorial service (left). Another man took to the social network to thank the florist which provided blooms for his grandmother's funeral (right)

One Instagram user showed off his funeral look, snapping a selfie while wearing sunglasses at his cousin's memorial service (left). Another man took to the social network to thank the florist which provided blooms for his grandmother's funeral (right)

Feifer ABC the youngsters taking the photographs were merely exploring new photography.   

In a 2015 survey, 80 percent of youths taking part agreed it was inappropriate to take selfies at funerals. 

There are more than 300,000 photographs on Instagram labeled under the hashtag 'funeral' and more than 1,000 under '#funeralselfie'.

They account for a small portion the 20 billion plus shared since the app launched in 2010.

The Selfies at Funerals Tumblr page reasons that because Barack Obama posed for a selfie at Nelson Mandela's memorial service with Danish prime minister Helle Thorning Schmidt and former British prime minister David Cameron, regular mourners should feel no shame in taking their own photographs

The Selfies at Funerals Tumblr page reasons that because Barack Obama posed for a selfie at Nelson Mandela's memorial service with Danish prime minister Helle Thorning Schmidt and former British prime minister David Cameron, regular mourners should feel no shame in taking their own photographs

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