When you die, your Facebook lives on
By now, it has probably happened to you. You are scrolling through Facebook and you see a birthday notification for a friend or family member who has died. Or you see them on a "friends you may know" suggesting that you should connect with them. It can be disconcerting. Or is it comforting?
Facebook has become the largest site of virtual memorials. There are over 1 Billion Facebook profiles worldwide, and 30 Million of them are deceased. Many people find it comforting to be able to revisit a deceased friend or family members pages to leave a message, or reconnect with others, especially on birthdays or anniversaries.
If you want to control what happens to your online identity when you pass- leave a list of your profiles and passwords with your next of kin. Let them know your wishes.
Facebook gives you a couple of options if you want to memorialize an account- access is restricted to current friends and eliminates birthday reminders, but friends can still leave messages in remembrance. Unfortunately, hackers have figured out how to find "deceased accounts". The other day my deceased uncle's profile popped up selling Nike sunglasses. Someone was posting spam on his profile, and that's not good.
The other option is to delete the account completely.
When you die, your Facebook lives on.
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