Who Wants to Live Forever? Living, Dying and Grieving in Our Digital Society
Almost ubiquitous hardware technology, such as smart phones, ensures that social networking sites are part of users’ everyday norms and routines. However, some are now using these new communication technologies to deal with the issues of death, dying and grief. With the hope of being able to create...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2015-11-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/4/4/1127 |
| _version_ | 1818420906127523840 |
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| author | Debra J. Bassett |
| author_facet | Debra J. Bassett |
| author_sort | Debra J. Bassett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Almost ubiquitous hardware technology, such as smart phones, ensures that social networking sites are part of users’ everyday norms and routines. However, some are now using these new communication technologies to deal with the issues of death, dying and grief. With the hope of being able to create digital memories to leave behind for future generations, the opportunity to “live on” and become digitally immortal is seen as empowering to some: but what about those left behind? Through a review of the current literature exploring how social media are being used as a new space to grieve and mourn, this paper contributes to the literature by arguing for the need for clarity in the lexicon being used by thanatologists and other disciplines. Furthermore, it introduces the term “digital zombie” to describe the dead who remain “alive” in our digital society. The paper concludes by joining the call for further research into the nascent phenomena being generated by human-computer interaction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T13:01:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-039a3f4cef7e4f5cb7986bf500ac5a8c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T13:01:54Z |
| publishDate | 2015-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-039a3f4cef7e4f5cb7986bf500ac5a8c2022-12-21T23:00:24ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602015-11-01441127113910.3390/socsci4041127socsci4041127Who Wants to Live Forever? Living, Dying and Grieving in Our Digital SocietyDebra J. Bassett0Department of Sociology, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKAlmost ubiquitous hardware technology, such as smart phones, ensures that social networking sites are part of users’ everyday norms and routines. However, some are now using these new communication technologies to deal with the issues of death, dying and grief. With the hope of being able to create digital memories to leave behind for future generations, the opportunity to “live on” and become digitally immortal is seen as empowering to some: but what about those left behind? Through a review of the current literature exploring how social media are being used as a new space to grieve and mourn, this paper contributes to the literature by arguing for the need for clarity in the lexicon being used by thanatologists and other disciplines. Furthermore, it introduces the term “digital zombie” to describe the dead who remain “alive” in our digital society. The paper concludes by joining the call for further research into the nascent phenomena being generated by human-computer interaction.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/4/4/1127thanatechnologydeathdigital zombieonline grievingdigital immortalitydigital afterlifedigital memories |
| spellingShingle | Debra J. Bassett Who Wants to Live Forever? Living, Dying and Grieving in Our Digital Society Social Sciences thanatechnology death digital zombie online grieving digital immortality digital afterlife digital memories |
| title | Who Wants to Live Forever? Living, Dying and Grieving in Our Digital Society |
| title_full | Who Wants to Live Forever? Living, Dying and Grieving in Our Digital Society |
| title_fullStr | Who Wants to Live Forever? Living, Dying and Grieving in Our Digital Society |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who Wants to Live Forever? Living, Dying and Grieving in Our Digital Society |
| title_short | Who Wants to Live Forever? Living, Dying and Grieving in Our Digital Society |
| title_sort | who wants to live forever living dying and grieving in our digital society |
| topic | thanatechnology death digital zombie online grieving digital immortality digital afterlife digital memories |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/4/4/1127 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT debrajbassett whowantstoliveforeverlivingdyingandgrievinginourdigitalsociety |