Deathlogging: Social Life Beyond the Grave

Abstract

As opposed to lifelogging practices, this article proposes a study of deathlogging or, in other words, the fact that a deceased person continues to have a “digital afterlife”. It shows how post-mortem digital presence contributes to re-introducing death into the social sphere, thus blurring the lines between mourning rituals and everyday rituals that rely on digital technology. Outlining a typology of how memorial websites are used, it shows that, in our hyper-connected Western society, the question of using post-mortem digital data concerns everyone, since it is now difficult to avoid having some kind of presence on the Web. Whereas some bereaved prefer to erase traces of the departed, others create memorial spaces for them or maintain and use these digital traces as if the dead were still alive. Digital memorial platforms, which spawn a specific form of expression, are therefore reconfiguring the relation to mourning. They encourage both individual and collective expression, thus performing the identity not only of the deceased but also those who survive them.