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SALT LAKE CITY — After death, a person's social media accounts can become a variety of things: a memorial to the person who once posted there, a painful reminder of a life cut short or a loving homage to a full, happy life. But what would happen if the dead could post after dying?
Would they say "thank you" to those who had served them, pen their last goodbyes to those they loved or carry on as normally as possible? Technology aims to allow social media users to do just that — and anything else they can think of — by scheduling posts to their accounts for long after they've gone.
Apps such as DeadSocial allows users to schedule social media posts to go out after their death, and even allows users to schedule messages to go out on birthdays, anniversaries and holidays years into the future. DeadSocial allows users to send out text, audio or video messages directly from their accounts.
"It really allows you to be creative and literally extend the personality you had while alive in death," James Norris, founder of DeadSocial, told CNN. "It allows you to be able to say those final goodbyes."
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LivesOn follows DeadSocial's example, but takes it one step further: the app will analyze a user's existing Twitter feed and choose relevant articles and media to post on that person's behalf.
LivesOn has raised some questions among those who wonder if the app is ethical. And the group of apps as a whole, including the Israeli If I Die, have led some to question the potential impact on the living of social media from beyond the grave.
"It offends some and delights others. Imagine if people started to see it as a legitimate but small way to live on," Dave Bedwood, a LivesOn developer, told the Guardian.
Apps such as these could help with the bereavement process, according to some. And to those who can see their life ending too early, an app like DeadSocial could be a tool outside of the usual letters or videos to allow their families to know them long after their death.
