You know we’ve all got so used to posting stuff online and being online that I wonder how many of us think about what they’ll do with their online profile when they’re dead?
You could say, “Nada – I’m going to be dead, I don’t give a shit.”
You could say, “Nada – until the socials go down, I’ll leave my profiles up.”
Or you could say, “Shit, I hadn’t really thought about that!”
Out of my small straw poll sample, the third option appears to be the most popular response. Which is surprising really – given how much time we devote to online.
And when I’m talking about online, I’m not just talking about social media stuff, I’m talking about all the digital stuff you do. Think banking, shopping, subscriptions, file sharing, loyalty schemes, storage, gaming – you name it and there’ll be a digital footprint of yours out there somewhere in the ether.
So what happens to this when you die?
Well, as I said above, fact is – most people haven’t even thought about this. And the worrying thing is, at some point, you are certainly going to die and when you do, it’s best to have an idea of what you wanted doing with your digital DNA.
Thing to consider for starters:
- Are you OK with your family having access to your private emails and messages?
- Do you want your Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram/ LinkedIn/ Etc. account to be memorialised or closed down after you die?
- Have you got any images or accounts you’d rather not share after death?
- Did you have anything you wanted to keep secret?
The thing to remember in all of this, is that online life after death is not a very private affair. Everything you’ve done will leave a digital footprint – and those memories will be there for people to search, trace, track and reveal.
And so perhaps take a moment to think: are you happy with your digital legacy? Is the ‘you’ that’s online the ‘you’ that you want to be Eternal Forever?