As we enter the closing of the year and look forward to the beginning of a new one, it is only natural to reflect on the times and events that are now behind us. For me, 2011 will be remembered as an overall extremely positive and good year. However, as I reflect back on the events that helped define this year, I must sadly mark the passing of people from the online world who are no longer with us on this plane of existence.
And yet…they are still with us in the online world.
I first noticed this phenomenon earlier this year. A friend of mine on Facebook was going on a trip that she normally had made with a friend of hers. This friend had passed away several months ago, but her Facebook page remained active as a living memorial. People were still leaving messages there as if this friend of my friend would randomly come back and start “liking” each wall post. From the last update the woman made to what was then the current time, the Facebook page remained a digital representation of part of who this woman had been. And it continued to represent her, and live, long after she had gone.
I suspect this happens often in the online world. My buddy Bruce Serven still is roaming the Twitter world. His last update is dated 2 days before he did the unthinkable. Many of his last entries on Twitter are tweets of posts I had written. There is his avatar that used to greet me every time I wrote a post. His face looks exactly the same, but his Twitter account is quiet.
Trey Pennington’s Twitter account is also still open and living. If you do a search for his name you find people quoting his blog posts and tweeting his videos, even still. Even though on his blog site it is noted that he has no events booked for now, there is no explanation for why. If you do not know what happened to this man, you may well think he merely is on hiatus from the online world. You might never guess that Trey left this world so tragically, so eerily, 3 months ago.
What do we do with these digital ghosts of ours? It almost seems cruel that they are still there on our screens, smiling in that same avatar pose. It seems cruel that some people who have automated feeds in their accounts still appear active even after they have gone silent in the offline world. And yet it’s kind of comforting too, isn’t it? To see these faces and to remember a time when we could take comfort in the fact that these great people were still with us, if not in our direct sphere of existence at least somewhere on this planet of ours.
What will we do as our online world continues to fill with these digital ghosts? Will the online world become too painful? Will the faces of our now-gone friends haunt us as we tweet and blog? Do we warn people that these folks will not be responding? Do we say why? Or do we let people meet these friends of ours and merely wonder why there is no response back? Which is less cruel? Which is more comforting?
What do you think about this?
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/naccarato/8407429/ via Creative Commons
Something I have heard is that you ought to give a trusted someone passwords to your blogs, etc. in case the unthinkable happens. I don’t know which is more comforting or if there is a right answer to this question.
Great post.
I think there is no right answer, Margie. These ghosts and images are always near us, just like those in the real offline world. An old photo falls out of a book, you hear a certain phrase, you smell a certain kind of food, and there they are; alive and vibrant and smiling back at us. Then we remember, and we smile anyway.
We always want to remember the best of our friends, even when they do the worst.
I have actually been thinking about this a lot lately, mostly because I am old. I am not famous, or followed by many, but I have been asking myself if should I leave my passwords to un-link me after I am gone. I think not.
The good that those people have done, the minds and works that they have stimulated will live on. There are people out there who will still come across their brilliance and use it. Those old posts, blogs and tweets are still teaching, and will go on enriching lives.
And who knows Margie, someone may stumle across this post of yours in 30 years and think, Hmmm? I wonder what she was like? And they will learn a lot of great things from about you and from you 🙂
@martinamcgowan
@Doc_1@martinamcgowan Martina, I like your answer. It is beautiful!
@Doc_1 Well thanks Martina. Hopefully longer than 30 years, unless I try another blogging hiatus 🙂 Hmm, I can’t imagine actually blogging for another 30 years though. Well, that’s another layer. We never know if someone just leaves the online world or if something else entirely is going on.
It’s a complex issue.
I too have been thinking about this, as I am now working on my 7th decade of life. I think I’ll leave a list of my accounts and passwords for someone I trust but only so they can go and post a final message (from me if I have the chance or without me if I don’t) but to not remove my accounts. I also think that, in part, one’s attitude towards this will be shaped by one’s religious beliefs – as in do you believe there is an afterlife or not. I don’t so it really doesn’t make any difference to me – there won;t be any “me” to note if people find the remnants of me interesting or not. As an avid photographer though I’d like to leave a photo legacy online that people can enjoy.
@DougAlder It does call to mind the ancient Egyptians and their views of the afterlife, doesn’t it? In a way, you can live forever in the online world. And yet it’s kind of creepy because it’s only automated you. I don’t know. It makes me ponder.
I too have friends who are gone but still have an online presence. It is somewhat unsettling indeed and it’s hard for me to visit their sites. At some time maybe I will go back to reflect ‘with them’, but for now it’s uncomfortable for me to be there.
@bdorman264 Unsettling is a great word for it, Bill. Thanks, and I’m sorry for your losses =/
Part of the responsible thing to do is make arrangements for your online space as well as all your in real life stuff. I have written my last blog post (and revise it from time to time to stay current) and all my passwords and accounts are on file with my last will, banking records, life insurance policies and safe deposit box keys. Things will get triggered by this last “qualifying event.” Folks will know when I am gone.
@dogwalkblog I’ve been thinking about doing that too. It’s a morbid topic. Maybe i’ll bring it up with the fam on Christmas Eve. B-t-dubs, in case I leave this planet, here’s my Twitter password. Uh…yeah.
You’re right though. Preparation is our best defense.
I think we really have to be aware of this post and I think this should be shared…