Last night, #RIP Brittany Murphy became the top trending topic on Twitter as fans and celebs shared their sorrow over her passing. Some of the sentiments shared:

Ashton Kutcher:

Lindsay Lohan:

Russell Simmons:

Khloe Kardashian:

Alyssa Milano:

While her death is sad, shocking, and at age 32, all too soon, I have to wonder, is Twitter the right forum for mourning?

Sure, it's fun to feel like we have an inside track to the lives of celebrities as they "stand in line at Starbucks" or send shout outs to their loved ones (or curse their enemies). But at what point, should thoughts and feelings stay sacred and private? Just last week, momblogger Shellie Ross was blasted for documenting her two year old son's fall in the pool, which led to his death a mere two hours later.  Ross' public announcement of her son's death prompted both sympathy and anger-- in fact, many of her followers wondered if it was a hoax.

Lisa Neal Gualtieri, an adjunct clinical professor of the health communication program at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and an expert in social media shared this with Good Morning America:

"Many people become closer to the people who they use Facebook and Twitter with than they do with their friends and neighbors," said Gualtieri. "And many people even use social media as their primary way of connecting with their friends."

Of course these sites help us stay connected (and give us something fun to do at work all day), but should they be used as a stage for people to share there sympathies? Call me old-fashioned, but status updating about death hardly feels "connected." It feels cheap and impersonal. It feels trivial, tacky, and frankly downright trendy-- an opportunity for people like Kim Kardashian to get her name in the press (as if she was actually connected to Brittany Murphy other than thinking Clueless is like, "my all time favorite movie.") It seems especially meaningless when her next tweet just hours later is about how badly she wants to go snowboarding. (Death = Snowboarding... ?? Really???)

Yes. Social media is here to stay and is a valuable resource and tool, but when used during times of tragedy, be careful.... You may just end up sounding like a tool....

What do YOU think? Is "tweeting" about death appropriate or downright tacky? Share YOUR thoughts with us!