The Era of Digital Legacies: Afterlife Online
OLIVIA CHEUNG
Editor in Chief
In today’s technology-dependent society, it becomes a necessity to check one’s emails and Facebook newsfeeds on a daily basis. The Internet has integrated itself into the daily routines of adolescents and adults alike. However, what happens to these online investments after death?
Facebook, currently the world’s largest social network with over one billion registered members, connects distant friends, families and even strangers. Facebook notifies users about birthdays and other day-to-day updates. Similarly, Facebook can also be a platform for grieving loved ones.
In the case of Anthony Dowdell, a New Jersey native who committed suicide in July 2012, many of his friends and family were unaware of his passing. According to Huffington Post, most discovered his death through a post on Dowdell’s Facebook wall. A friend had confirmed Dowdell’s death and wished to inform his other geographically-scattered friends. Although many of them didn’t know each other, Facebook allowed them to mourn together.
“Whenever [people are] feeling sad or missing the person, they can always go to their page and look through photos, videos, or posts to [reminisce] their beloved friend or family [member],” freshman Xena Huang.
According to Time magazine, Yale’s Director of Center for Cultural Sociology, Jeffrey Alexander, stressed that society’s modernization has individualized the grieving process as loved ones scatter across the globe. However, unlike most tangible items, the online community is convenient and does not require packaging.
“While not a replacement for a funeral, online memorialization can help people work through their grief after the funeral,” Jessica Koth, the spokesperson of the National Funeral Directors Association, told CNN. “Expressing one’s grief online is an outgrowth of what’s happening in other areas of our lives.”
Facebook provides a unique option that memorializes profiles of deceased users. To memorialize a profile, a family member or friend must fill out a form and submit evidence of death, which Facebook staff reviews. Memorialization disables features, such as status updates and group affiliations, but confirmed friends and family are still allowed to visit the profile and post comments.
“I can see [Facebook] as a place you can go to and reflect [on] the memories you have with someone who passed away,” junior Anthony Amato said. “There are some things found on Facebook like photos [and] videos that hold a lot of meaning.”
Other sites, such as Yahoo and Google, follow privacy rules, even after death, but these rules can be overridden with court orders. Currently, few laws explicitly concern the handling of digital assets.
However, New Hampshire State Representative Peter Sullivan recently proposed legislation that gives the executor of an estate—the person named in the deceased’s will to administer the will and ensure their final wishes are respected—control over all Internet accounts. According to ABC news, similar legislation has been adopted by Rhode Island, Idaho, Oklahoma, Indiana and Connecticut.
Through websites, such as Legacy Locker, The Digital Beyond and Deathswitch, a person’s digital life can be handled after death. These sites allow users to set up online wills that designate which beneficiaries inherit their online accounts, such as usernames and passwords after death.
Although online wills provide convenience, the more traditional form of handwritten wills have not become obsolete.
“People should [also] create a traditional, written will with their online information attached. A traditional will is more sentimental and provides any thoughts from the person to his friends and family,” junior Jeff Liang said.