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Juliet Fletcher

Professor Bivins

ENC 1101

25 Sept. 2013

Death in the Era of Social Media

As the use of social media explodes across the globe, society is confronted with the issue

of how we deal with the online presence of the deceased. The emergence of openly interactive

grieving, widespread perpetuity of identities, as well as legal repercussions and questions raised

by the death of someone immersed in social media are only the beginning of the effects of this

phenomenon. The pervasive nature of social media has irreversibly altered post-death processes

across the globe, and consequently changed what mortality means in a virtual environment.

Prior to the explosion of social media, we would not be aware if friends we lost touch

with, former classmates, or coworkers passed away unless we read obituaries or had mutual

friends make an effort to notify those not close enough for appropriate funeral attendance.

Currently, users of Facebook are connected to significantly more acquaintances regardless of

geographic locations because of its foundation of networking through schools attended and both

former and current employers. Consequently, if someone dies we will be notified through

informative or emotional posts often containing a clickable tag of the profile of the deceased or

possibly event pages for memorial services, on our social media feeds. Not only does this

process allow for an effective dissemination of information, but it creates a virtual space for

those grieving to interact with each other, share memories, and even rekindle connections.

As we scroll through our feeds, we are likely to come across an online profile of someone

who has passed. If we visit their profile, blog, or page, we can observe and explore a snapshot of

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their life, specifically the aspects they chose to share. All participants of social media leave

behind an autobiographical record of their endeavors and activities including their tastes and

personal creations in any digital medium that can be accessed by those who have outlived them.

This colossal amount of personal data was previously limited to letters, diaries, and possessions

left behind, and the accessibility was unheard except for greatly known people. Even in the case

of the famous, the aspect of self recording did not often exist. Presently, online identities remain

intact and appear suspended, as if only the virtual presence has ceased. It may even continue

existing without them, through queued or scheduled posts that are often utilized on social media

sites Tumblr and Twitter, which could easily become extremely misleading to fellow users they

are connected with through only that media platform. This raises the question of how we will be

informed that a blogger, twitter user, or online forum frequenter has passed away if that site is

our only connection.

Social media providers have yet to address what will be done with the accounts of

deceased users. There is no way to mark a basic Facebook profile as deceased and it is

unknown if providers allow for family members to circumvent privacy and security barriers to

deactivate or alter accounts. Will we be sending death certificates to the bank, the IRS, and

Facebook? Presently, family members are forced to either sort it out circumstantially or neglect

the issue entirely. The millennial generation often humorously discusses how they would like

their online identity to be handled, for example asking that their browser history be erased by

their closest friend in the event they die unexpectedly. Whether they are aware of it or not, they

are hinting at the development of legal precautions we might eventually take. Perhaps the

responsibilities of the executor of the estate will eventually include not only the deceaseds

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finances, material possessions, and physical living quarters, but their online space and virtual

community presence as well.

Society is only beginning to encounter the effects on the changing processes following

death as a result of immersive social media. Interactive remembrance, perpetuation of virtual

presence and identity, and emerging legal processes and responsibilities post-death are only a

few ways we have begun to address the questions of what mortality means in a virtual, social

environment and what we can do to accommodate it.