Facebook: a new type of memorial for the 21st Century I am fortunate to not have lost a great deal of people dear to me in my #life so far. However a friend of my wife's died several years ago, too young by far. It was a deeply sad time for the family and friends. Several months after they had died, I happened to notice that in my wife's friends list, the friend's name still popped up. Curious, I clicked on the profile. People were still writing on the wall. Friends were sending messages telling them how much they were missed, or of some event that they wished they could have been there to see. I spoke to colleagues where I work about my observation, and most of them were horrified. In one way I could see their point of view; why keep a page on Facebook for someone who is no longer with us, with their last status updates and comments a constant reminder of their absence? However I see it differently. What I see is a poignant memorial, and a new way of remembering someone. What is the difference between going to a churchyard and speaking to a gravestone, and typing a message on Facebook on an anniversary of their passing? How comforting to see how many people write on the wall, year after year, showing just how much someone was loved and cared for. Perhaps I'm wrong. But in this ever increasingly digital world, it's nice to know that somewhere, in some small corner of the Internet, some part of them goes on and they can be remembered in a very modern way.
