A little discussed topic but an event we may all be confronted with at some point. Below are some resources I have collected regarding managing your digital afterlife or the memories of loved ones in the digital age. The resources provide information on preserving memories on social profiles such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and downloading data from Apple, Google and other services.
Information
- What Happens to My Late Husband’s Digital life New He’s Gone? | July 4, 2015 | The Guardian
- A Blueprint for Your Digital Afterlife | April 22, 2015 and Planning Your Digital Legacy, Part II | May 6, 2015 | re/code
- Watch This Powerful Look at Death in the Facebook Age | April 14, 2015 | Esquire
- In Memory: A Film About Death and Grieving in the Digital Age | March 2015 | VIMEO
- By Sharing Death on the Web, Dying May Not Feel So Alone | March 17, 2015 | TIME
- Our Digital Lives Mean Memories and Life Online Can Continue Even After Death | February 14, 2015 | The Conversation
- How to Prepare for Your Digital Afterlife | | February 13, 2015 | Computerworld
Facebook lets you choose a social heir; What about Google, Twitter and Instagram? - You Can Now Choose Who Will Manage Your Facebook Account After You Die | February 12, 2015 | Mashable
- Back-up Brains: The Era of Digital Immortality | January 23, 2015 | BBC
How do you want to be remembered? As Simon Parkin discovers, we may eventually be able to preserve our entire minds for generations to come – would you? - Tweets From the Afterlife: Social Networking With the Dead | December 1, 2014 | The Conversation
- How to Prepare for Your Digital Afterlife | September 4, 2015 | VICE
- What Happens to Your Social Media Profiles When You Die? | June 24, 2014 | Mashable
One of life’s most perplexing existential questions gets a lot more complicated when you factor in social media. While there’s no definitive answer to what happens to us when we die, Dan Shaffer at WebpageFX put together a visual guide to social media life after death. - How to Protect Your Digital Afterlife | May 28, 2014 | Bloomberg View
- Facebook Will Make ‘Look Back’ Videos for Deceased Users | February 21, 2014 | Mashable
- Dealing With Death In A Digital Age | January 19, 2014 | readwrite
What happens when someone dies, but her profile doesn’t? - A Digital Afterlife | September 16, 2013 | SLATE
You’ve thought about a funeral. You’ve thought about a will. But have you thought about what to do with the Facebook account? - Digital Death Day | 2012 | digitaldeathday.com
- Digital Memorials – How is Death Experienced in Social Media? | December 9, 2010 | Media Memory History
Research
- Death Online Research | An International Research Network
- Death and the Social Network | Jed R. Brubaker and Janet Vertesi
- Virtual Mourning and Memory Construction on Facebook: Here Are the Terms of Use | Rhonda N. McEwen and Kathleen Scheaffer
- New Memory Cultures and Death: Existential Security in the Digital Memory Ecology | 2013 | Thanatos Journal
Services
- Digital Death and Afterlife Online Services List | The Digital Beyond
- Your Digital Legacy | Facebook
- Inactive Account Manager | Google
- Report a Deceased Person’s Account for Memorialization on Instagram | Instagram