What are your thoughts on if someone has passed away; should their social media profiles stay active? Is it a way or good portal for those who cared about the deceased to pay their respects? Or is it odd.
I bring it up because yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of a good friend of mine's death, and I saw a few friends of mine posting about it on Facebook. It got me thinking, first I missed my friend dearly, but secondly, if they're gone, why should their Facebook page remain open as if they were still here. Is it because friends and family can use it to post their thoughts and how much they miss the person? It reminds me of a cyber version of visiting a relatives grave stone.
It also brings me to another point. Who has ownership of this page now? It's not as if the deceased's parents own it, they might not know the passwords used to get on. I guess it's Facebook who owns everything. And then you think, well what will they do with the information, photos, ect? I wouldn't want them being sold to someone if I were the family. Because as you know anything can be bought online. So I did some digging and found this article written by a Facebook employee, and he talks about "memorializing" the dead's profile so only confirmed friends can view it. I like the idea, but I don't know if it has been done to the friends' profiles I know who are no longer with us.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/memories-of-friends-departed-endure-on-facebook/163091042130
The only way the profile will become memorialized is if you contact Facebook and request it to be done. This isn't a well known thing, and I don't think many people would even think to ask.
I'd like to know everyone else's thoughts on this. Should Facebook own the right's to their profile? What about twitter users? If you read this article it says someone must contact them as well to deactivate the account. Please share your thoughts in the comments below on what you think is right, should the profiles stay upon as a memorial of sorts, or should they closed down out of respect?
As always you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+.
