What Happens to Your Facebook Profile When You Die?
This is a deep and profound question, but we all understand that death is a fact of life. With the day and age of social media addiction, you may be wondering what would happen to your Facebook and other online profiles if you were to suddenly kick the bucket. Even more so, what if a close friend or family member were to pass away? What will become of their online profiles?
Interestingly enough, Facebook does have a policy for users that are deceased, where the Facebook profile can be turned into a memorial. This allows the identity of the user to be preserved online so that people can still access their information or even post comments in remembrance. This is a much better alternative than completely erasing someone who may have suddenly passed away, especially if other friends and family members want to reach out. The only catch to this is that if an account on Facebook is turned into a memorial, that person will no longer pop up in friend suggestions to create any type of uncomfortable interaction. This deceased profile will become private so that it can only be accessed by confirmed friends and not strangers.
In the same manner, MySpace also has a policy for users that pass away, where a family member must contact MySpace through e-mail with the proof of death and the ID number for the MySpace user. Within this policy, the family member can’t edit any of the content on the MySpace page, but MySpace will continue to review the page to remove inappropriate content. This can be an issue if someone were to pass away who has older family members who do not know how to use the Internet. These family members may not take the time to update social networks about the death of this individual, leaving the MySpace profile still running.
Regardless, it is important to understand that the world is changing in ways that now even impact death. Instead of simply writing an obituary when someone passes away, social media profiles must be updated and changed, though they also present the opportunity for an online memorial.
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