Death and your digital afterlife

We share so much information online, but what happens to it all when someone dies? Enter the social media will, writes John Hearne

SO much of our lives are lived online these days. Twitter and Facebook are lovingly tended, email accounts are packed with years of correspondence. But what happens to that online life when your real life stops?

The US government has recently begun advising people to make a ‘social media will’. A government blog advises: “If you have social media profiles set up online, you should create a statement of how you would like your online identity to be handled. Just like a traditional will helps your survivors handle your physical belongings, a social media will spells out how you want your online identity to be handled”. The document goes on to urge the appointment of an online executor: “This person will be responsible for closing your email addresses, social media profiles and blogs after you are deceased.”