Social channels on the Internet today have presented challenges in ethics for anyone who has a loved one that passed away while having open accounts. This has been a topic up for debate among Facebook and other social networks, ever since families began requesting that their loved one’s profile be taken down, accessed only by them, or turned into a memorial / condolence page.
Early in 2014, Facebook reached the decision to turn the deceased’s page into a memorial page upon written request and proof of death from the family. The social network allows authorized family members, or “legacy contacts,” access to the page, while keeping the friends list and privacy settings originally chosen by the deceased in order to honor those wishes. Click here for more information on memorialized accounts.
It’s a fine line between the living survivor’s wishes, and what the deceased may have wanted. Many people agree that ‘deleting’ their loved one's profile feels as though they are deleting them from life, somehow. Some people choose to leave the decedent's name as a contact on their mobile phone. These are very personal decisions.
One family created a brand new Facebook memorial page for their two young sons after a tragic accident in order to allow their memories to live on. A boater who was drunk at the time, crashed into the family’s boat, killing two of the three children on board.
The parents have used their sons’ Facebook memorial page in more ways than they could have imagined. Originally, they wanted to honor the boys and allow family and friends to post comments, memories or condolences. The page has grown to over 7,600 people from all over the nation who heard about the sad tragedy, the trial against the drunk boater, or otherwise came across the page. Thousands of comments have been made supporting the mom, dad, brother and other family members as they endured the details of their sons’ deaths during the trial. There is something healing about getting support from people from all over the nation.
Sisters, brothers, parents and friends are setting up new pages or transitioning old ones in an effort to remember and memorialize. It’s nice to see a friend of the deceased post a funny memory that maybe the family didn’t know about. It’s a way of keeping their legacy alive, while continuing to learn new things about them. On birthdays and death anniversary dates, Facebook pages are visited by loved ones who share in remembrance.
There comes a time in everyone’s grieving journey of lost loved ones when the acute pain lessens and memories take over. Social networks like Facebook are chartering new territory for all of us, as we learn what is acceptable in how we honor our lost loved ones. In the end, it comes down to the personal choice of families.
If you’d like to speak to a professional on how to set up a unique Facebook memorial, reach out to Cook Family Funeral Home today.
Article Submitted by:
Tim and Alison Dinan, Owners
Cook Family Funeral Home, Cremation Service, and Hillcrest Cemetery
206-842-2642