What will your digital legacy be? | BBC Ideas

Summary

The transcript explores how technology has altered our relationship with death, particularly through digital legacies. People now leave behind extensive online footprints, from social media accounts to search histories, complicating the grieving process. The dead live on in the digital world, with memories and interactions preserved in data. The script delves into the challenge of curating and deleting this data and the potential role of digital curators. The speaker also reflects on managing their own digital legacy, considering how future generations might interact with their online presence, and the need to make deliberate decisions about what to leave behind.

Takeaways

• 😀 People across cultures and millennia have always sought ways to stay connected to the dead, using the technologies available at the time.
• 😀 In today's world, the dead live on through technology, as digital footprints are left behind through social media and other online platforms.
• 😀 Many people have experienced the phenomenon of learning about someone's passing through their digital presence, such as social media posts and comments.
• 😀 A personal experience is shared where the speaker found out about a friend's death purely through social media interactions, which was an entirely new and strange way of grieving.
• 😀 The digital presence of a deceased person can create an overwhelming and complex digital footprint, making it harder for those left behind to let go of the person.
• 😀 This digital presence, like detailed biographies, images, and search histories, can lead to an endless detective trail for people trying to piece together the person’s life.
• 😀 The constant availability of the deceased’s digital footprint might hinder the grieving process, potentially making it difficult for individuals to move on and find closure.
• 😀 The issue of data storage is raised: servers are filled with data about the dead, leading to the question of what digital content should be saved or deleted after someone's passing.
• 😀 As more aspects of life become digital, the question of how to handle personal online data after death will become increasingly important.
• 😀 The speaker has taken active steps to manage their own digital legacy by opting for the deletion of Google data if they are inactive for 18 months, showing a desire to control their online footprint posthumously.

Q & A

Why do people across cultures and history feel the need to stay connected to the dead?

People have always sought ways to stay connected to the dead because of the deep instinct to remember and honor those who have passed, often trying to maintain a relationship with the deceased through the available technologies of their time.

How has technology changed the way people interact with the dead?

With modern technology, particularly through digital platforms like social media, it has become easier to stay connected to the dead as their online presence continues to exist. Nearly everyone now has access to the digital footprints of the deceased.

What impact did the speaker's friend's death have on them?

The speaker experienced an unsettling moment when they found out about their friend's passing by reading through social media statuses and comments, rather than being informed in person or through traditional means, which highlighted the shift in how we experience loss.

How does the deceased's digital footprint complicate the grieving process?

The deceased's online presence, including social media accounts and digital history, can overwhelm those who are grieving by offering a continuous, complex narrative that may prevent people from fully letting go and moving forward in their mourning process.

What role does digital data play in remembering the dead?

Digital data, such as social media posts and online activity, creates a multifaceted biography of the deceased, often leading others to explore and uncover more details about the person, which can extend the grieving process or even prevent closure.

What ethical question arises as more data about the deceased is stored online?

The ethical question that arises is: 'What data should be preserved, and what should be deleted?' As the majority of our lives are now lived online, we must consider the importance of digital legacies and the preservation of personal data after death.

Why might there be a need to delete digital data after a period of inactivity?

Deleting data after a period of inactivity can prevent the unnecessary accumulation of personal information that may overwhelm surviving relatives or even affect one's digital legacy. It is also a way to ensure that our digital presence doesn't linger without purpose.

What is the role of digital curators in managing online legacies?

Digital curators may play a future role in managing the digital legacies of individuals, ensuring that the memories and important aspects of someone's online presence are preserved in a way that is meaningful and manageable for loved ones.

How does the speaker plan to manage their own online presence?

The speaker plans to actively manage their online presence by curating and editing their digital content, ensuring that only the most important and valuable information is preserved for future generations, avoiding an overwhelming avalanche of data.

What does the speaker suggest about how we should think about our digital footprints in relation to death?

The speaker suggests that we should be mindful of our digital footprints as they are an integral part of our identity. As much as we manage our physical legacies, we should consider the impact and legacy of our online presence after we pass away.