by e³°°°, on Flickr
The Huffington Post, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and the New York Times have all recently grappled with the notion of ‘digital afterlife’ – the online legacy left by the deceased. I particularly liked the Huffington Post’s assertion that “In the virtual realm, there is life after death.” Oh what religious ideas that notion might spawn. I can’t wait.
In the meantime it seems like writers at the papers above are beginning to think about the issues that come with a life increasingly lived in the social media world. What we leave behind, in this digital age, seems to be challenging us to confront and contemplate death in new ways. The Canadian Privacy Commissioner recently forced Facebook to make changes to its policy that gives relatives of deceased users greater access. Of course, new businesses are also springing up to deal with the variety of problems that death after life online presents – Digital undertakers like Legacy Locker and Slightly Morbid, who can take care of your online affairs. This might include deleting email accounts or restricting access to social media profiles. The question is, will families and friends want their loved ones to be forever wiped from the online world, or will they want to maintain them to visit now and then like one would a grave site?
But back to the question of eternal life online; the digital realm is, for many, host to spirits and powers beyond human (I’ve definitely fought a few battles with my computers over the years). Maybe the internet will come to be seen as a medium through which we can interact with the dead.
Jose Antonio Vargas, ‘For Slain Youth, World Wide Web of Mourners’, Washington Post (3/4/08).
Michelle Slatalla, ‘Friends to the End and Beyond’, New York Times (14/1/09).
Duncan Jefferies, ‘Preparing for the Digital Afterlife’, The Guardian (30/9/09).
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A guy from school died last week, and I found out just after I’d seen him pop up in my “People You May Know” bit on Facebook. That’s one friend request I don’t imagine he’ll be answering.
Fellas –
Great write up, Alex. I like your style.
Mind if I work on teh next version (you know: Death 2.1)? With the long weekend coming up I’ll have some time.
Death is all yours David! Say hi to Mort for me, will ya.
Even professed materialists see spirits in the computer network. Many of them fetishise a benevolent skynet who cradles humanity in loving arms.