Visitors paying their respects would be asked in to the bedroom to pay their last respects to the departed, and it was considered very rude and disrespectful not to go in and view the dead.
It may have been mentioned but I know that tradition is still one used by Irish catholic families. One of my saddest moments ever was to go and view the body of my friends little boy, aged three, in his bedroom. He was in his tiny white coffin, not his bed, but it is something that will live with me forever. I used to chat with his mother as we got the bus into work. We were both pregnant at the same time and both gave birth to baby boys. Every single mourner was in tears for this poor little soul. It was all very respectful. I think of him and his family often.
I don't mind traditions if they are part of a family send off. It's the taking and posting (on social media) of photos that I find deplorable.