Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Digital Life and Death

 

’Tis a truth, which should be universally acknowledged, that life and death on this earth does not parallel life and death in the digital realm. (Apologies to Jane Austen)

 

I have Facebook friends who passed away. Their Facebook pages and timelines still live. I have blogging friends I had followed whose blogs had died, but I happen to know the blog owners are very much alive.

 

Many of my posts on this blog are scheduled ahead. In the event that I leave this earth, posts will continue to appear for a time. The only hint that I’m no longer here would be the complete lack of comments, as I moderate all comments and will no longer be there to do so. (Hint: if you want to check my earthly pulse, just comment 😉)

 

On people search sites I found my parents and other dearly departed people continuing to age. Apparently, these sites, which make their fortunes collecting public data on all of us, can’t bother to scour records of death.

 

Strange worlds we live and die in; two parallel timelines that only partially intersect.



3 comments:

  1. I have appreciated the notes spouses have shared after their loved ones' death on their blogs. Live long and prosper, Mirka!

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  2. We do live in interesting times, that's for sure. I'm glad you're still very much alive, dear friend. I hope things will remain that way for many, many years to come.

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  3. That we still appear on the internet long after we're gone does not trouble me as long as the information is accurate, not slanderous or otherwise disparaging or incorrect. The issue is that we do not not have control over what others perpetrate in their anger and resentment. But is that any different from real speech? Yes, we live in two kinds of universes, neither of them perfect, but what a journey in each!

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