After You Are Gone, Will You Live On, Online?
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 5:07AM
The world is changing. We are spending more and more of our time online. Indeed, more and more of who we are is online. It truly changes everything: our relationships, our identities, perhaps even our notion of mortality. After our bodies have perished, will not some aspect of ourselves live on online? Through, pictures, videos, playlists, blogs,emails, there is suddenly the opportunity for our loved ones to be with us, at least virtually, once again. My cousin, who died a couple of years ago, still has her Facebook page up and it serves as a kind of altar, at which loved ones leave offerings, on special days, or whenever the mood hits.
Imagine a hundred years from now, assuming that some of our descendants are still around (another wish, perhaps). If you think we have a large amount of data storage capacity today, what will the entire recorded lives of billions of people look like? The cloud will literally be bursting with data. But what a wonderful way to connect with our past! Imagine your great-grandchildren being able to read a blog you wrote, or see a video of you as a child, or perhaps even hear or see a wish that you left for them. Featured onedaytolive.org video wishes.
It's not the same as standing at a loved ones grave, but then, it doesn't have to be.
Of course, there are some aspects of ourselves that we will not want to live on online. That cable bill for example, or those online subscriptions, or insurance premiums. It is important that your survivors know how to turn these things off, lest the expenses keep piling up. I went through this with my mother a few years back. As a late adopter, most of her bills came the old-fashioned way, in the mail. It took months to sort things out, sending out copies of her death certificate, to prove to these merchants, and at times to myself, that she was truly gone.
Wishes & Dreams Live On, Online
Wishes4Life provides a convenient distraction free place to organize and share with loved ones this information, along with logins and passwords, so that your descendents know your wishes and can get through the process of moving on with a little less pain. Consider putting together, along with your wishes, instructions on how you want some of your "virtual assets" handled. It's not something a lot of people are talking about yet, but then, it's never too late to be early.
RP Siegel is an author and inventor with 44 patents whose passion runs along literary, environmental, and technological lines. He is a Professional Engineer and a prolific inventor with 44 patents. His publications include business and technical articles as well as the recent sustainability novel, Vapor Trails, his third, co-authored with Roger Saillant. Now available on Kindle.