Lanthorn.com

Facebook after life

By Patricia Saenz GVL Columnist
11/1/2009

In honor of The Day of the Dead, which is actually a holiday spread over two days- yesterday and today- I would like to write about the relationship between death and social media.

As our generation and society as a whole has established a big part of their lives online, I thought it was interesting to find out what happens to our online life when we are no longer around to update it.

From my Facebook page to my Gmail account, I wondered who would have the final say of what would happen to them if I were to die today. Would my friends and family be able to figure out my passwords and deactivate my accounts online?

Before social media, this particular issue did not exist. There were many other things families and friends had to deal with when a loved one passed. Before, we did not have to debate whether you should take down a loved one's old Facebook page or leave it up so people can share memories and say their final goodbyes. However, this has become a part of the process along with ordering flowers and making funeral arrangements.

Facebook recently unrolled the new reconnect feature on Oct. 23, which gives suggestions for friends you can reconnect with who you have not spoken to in a while. However, this became a massive Facebook fail when friends received suggestions to reconnect with their deceased friends.

However, this was not all Facebook's fault. They did account for this issue when they developed this feature. The problem occurred because people have not taken advantage of the feature that turns a Facebook page into a memorial page which keeps the page from being included in things like the reconnect feature or the status updates.

Facebook is guilty, though, of not publicizing the importance of changing the profile over to a memorial page. In further research, it seems Facebook is way ahead of the curve in terms of helping your family handle your account.

Many e-mail providers, for example, will deactivate your account after inactivity, but will not allow your family access to any of your information.

I am not sure if the answer is writing a will for your online possessions and accounts, but I do know this is one strange world we live in when we have to worry about our Facebook after we die.

psaenz@lanthorn.com

Comments: