Do Our Social Media Accounts Die When We Do? by Gfunkified

Photo by: GFunkified
Graphic by: Val Curtis

In the 21st century, what does dying do to your social media profiles? Should you be memorialized on Facebook? Should your page die with you? I struggle with my own losses each time I see a status update about them, and I wonder what will happen to my Facebook pages when I die.

Yesterday on Facebook, I saw a friend’s status update about someone that had passed away that day or the day before. She seemed shocked by the news, and curiosity got the better of me, so I clicked on the deceased person’s name and went to her wall.

It was a blogger that I had never heard of or read before, but judging from all of the posts on her fan page’s wall, she was loved by many. It was touching to read their words about how sweet and funny she was, and how much she’ll be missed.

It got me thinking of my own mortality, of course, and I kept scrolling until I found the first status from the blogger’s daughter, posting as the fan page, announcing that her mother had died suddenly (but not saying how) and asking for peace for the family.

Of course, I was torn up for the family and her friends (both real and virtual) that were obviously in shock. But also? Honestly, it made me want to know how she had died. And it made me think…I almost felt like I should have a plan in place in case something should happen to me. If I died, would my family be able to “make an announcement”? Would readers see snippets from my family and friends and wonder if it was a joke, and what had happened to me? Does it even matter?

ABOUT GRETA: Greta is a wife and stay at home mom of four children. She lives in the Kansas countryside, runs a gluten free household, and spends most of her time online to connect with the outside world.

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