Social Media and the Digital AfterLife

With the arrival of the Internet and other digital technologies our world and lives are becoming increasingly digitised. We constantly use the online space both personally and professionally leaving a digital footprint which remains when we die. Considering our digital assets in the scheme of our life is something we really didn’t need to think about before but we do now.

Parallel, the recent decision by The Court of Justice of the European Union that people have the right to be forgotten on Google, and the subsequent decision by Google to launch a service to allow Europeans to request for personal data to be removed from online search results (regardless of how bureaucratic the process) has shown again how far behind the law is when it comes to the online space. Being able to remove your digital traces from the Internet opens up issues of privacy and data protection versus the public’s right to know.

However, this concerns individuals while they are still alive (and is for another blog post). What happens when individuals die? So far there is no agreement on how the policies of social media companies deal with these issues of deceased user accounts. Each has their approach and may leave the beavered feeling distressed.

The law is not keeping pace with technology and the speed and development of social media means the law is very behind. Generally, the Internet is still a legal grey area. Further the area is complicated by legal issues to do with social media ownership of content and privacy.

What does this mean for the people left behind so it doesn’t cause upset while they are bereaving? Think this doesn’t concern you, here are some issues to consider:

• Once you die, if you have a significant online presence your family and friends could receive unnecessary reminders (i.e birthday reminders)

• Digital legacies could pose potentially harmful security issues (i.e. financial direct debits continue to leave the account until frozen by the provision of a death certificate)

• Social media profiles contain a wealth of personal information which could go unchecked

Although not a positive topic, moving forward it is important people consider their digital existence when they pass away. As we continue to put more of our lives online, it is crucial to have a plan about our online afterlife. Our understanding and experience of death is forever changed by not only social media but the Internet in general.

Would love to hear your thoughts…..

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Tags: Digital Afterlife • social Media • Social Media and Death • Social Media and the law