Social media accounts: What happens to the digital traces of the deceased?
Billions of people around the world actively use social media platforms. This situation brings with it what happens to the digital existence of a deceased person. Social media accounts remain active until a family member notifies the platform of the death.
Hayley Smith personally experiences the difficulty caused by this situation. Smith, who lost his wife to cancer, encounters birthday congratulatory messages on Matthew’s Facebook account. This situation makes him deeply sad and he wants to turn his wife’s account into a memorial page.
But despite trying more than 20 times, he cannot upload his wife’s death certificate to Facebook. He wants to contact Facebook to overcome this problem he is experiencing, but cannot find the necessary strength while grieving.
This incident experienced by Hayley Smith reveals how sad the consequences of social media platforms not having a clear policy regarding the accounts of deceased people can be. Such platforms should take the necessary steps and provide a clear road map to ensure that those who have lost their loved ones are not left alone in this difficult process.
Social media platforms can take these steps:
- An easy and fast procedure should be established to turn the accounts of deceased people into a memorial page.
- Access to accounts should be granted to family members if they verify their identity and provide the necessary documentation.
- Options should be provided to preserve the deceased person’s digital legacy.
Hayley Smith’s story serves as an important example to raise awareness on this issue. Social media platforms need to produce urgent solutions to this issue.
Hayley Smith appears in the news text as an English woman who lost her husband to cancer. The difficulties she experienced with the status of her social media accounts after her husband Matthew’s death reveal the importance of social media platforms not establishing a clear policy regarding the digital presence of the deceased.
