Virtual Life after Death

Cnn.com posted an interesting story today about what happens to your online assets when you die – and the answer is, “Until recently, nothing.” In many cases, individuals will pass away without making arrangements for family members to learn their passwords. As a result, the person’s virtual assets – everything from virtual property in role-playing programs such as Second Life, to items sold and waiting to be shipped on eBay, to purchased domain names that may suddenly be worth thousands of dollars – will eventually expire or fall into limbo without the inheritors ever knowing about them.

As a result, a number of companies have rushed in to provide for the population whose lives are becoming increasingly virtual. For $29.99 a year, Legacy Locker will act as an online will, providing your family members with information only after it has been notified of your death (important information requires a death certificate). AssetLock.net is similar, offering a digital safety deposit box to its customers (one should note AssetLock’s smart decision to change its name from the remorseless sounding “YouDeparted.com”)

The article also described the emergence of virtual cemeteries, such as EternalSpace.com and Findagrave.com. In fact, many funeral homes have finally accepted the idea of the internet acting as a legitimate conduit for grief and mourning, from websites to social network pages that are set up as tributes to the deceased.

Due to the increasing popularity of virtual cemeteries (Findagrave.com claims to have cemetery records for 32 million individuals in its database) it made me think about what inherent emotion or need these services must be addressing to be so successful. After reading CNN's story, I suddenly remembered something strange I had observed three years ago when my friend’s girlfriend was tragically killed in a car accident. Because no one in her family knew her passwords, her facebook account could not be closed, and it continues operating to this day.

At first, her facebook wall served as a memorial that her friends would write their condolences upon, but after months and even years passed, her wall organically transformed into a sort of conduit, where her friends could post their prayers or thoughts to her with the assumption that she could somehow read them (in the same way we might speak to the grave of a loved one on the offchance the departed can hear us).

Now, as our physical cemeteries are filling to capacity and plots are becoming increasingly expensive, it makes me wonder if virtual cemeteries – which can conveniently be "visited" by friends and family across the world – will one day replace physical gravestones and cemeteries?