Helo again, Day five of the experiment, and it has backfired, in a sense – I’m not doing anything more as I had planned; no, instead of planning elaborate things for my day to be filled with, I’m just highlighting my failure to work. Oh well!
Edinburgh was beautiful yesterday, properly sunny, so I spent the day reading outside, working away on some situationist stuff – If you’ve never encountered them, check out Guy Debord’sSociety of the Spectacle, a book outlining the decline of western society into that of spectacle, and it is really easy to read, in fact I would say it is too easy. This is the sort of thing that every teenager should be reading, not only that, it should be in their back pocket. I know I’m only 21, but I miss that world… the one that only ever existed in french novels.
Anyway I got thinking the other day about death. But more specifically, death within the realm of the internet. Recently, a number of facebook groups have emerged as memorials to freinds passing in freak accidents, or in shootings – really terrible things; but I find their profile pages so alluring – there is a really spooky feeling, visiting the page of a ghost – not least beacuse it is completely normal up to the death, and then suddenly there is a wall post that says R.I.P. It’s incredible.
but the more I think about it, the more you realise that it will soon become a genuine problem for the companies that host these sits; within a hundred years, a whole generation of people and their cyber identites will become null and void; whether on facebook, Second life or some other soon to be unveiled social network, there is going to be millions of dead facebook pages – some by then only connected to other pages of the dead. I’m sure there’s anovel in this somewhere.
BUt here’s my idea – a facebook will. Incredibly morbid, but I like to think of this as a positive action – you could opt into or out of accont deletion, allowing your webspace and photos to be owned by other peopl perhaps, just as you opt in or out of your organs being used after your death; or why not donate this space to cancer research? It’s a serious question. Or, and this is another thing I’ve found out about, why not request that after your death, messages be sent to your friends. How amazing would that be to find a dead lover has written an apology, or offers words of wisdom.. I discovered a website that travelled through time, which would send an email to you in ten years time, from which you could tell your future self something from your past… I’ve already forgotten what mine says, so I’m looking forward to that kick in the arse in ten years time.
There are other possibilities – it could just be simple things, like changing your profile picture every few months, or changing your status to “ants are eating my face” or “you know what, this heaven thing is overrated”. Or more positively, why not ask your facebook will to create an event for your own memorial, either directly after your death so that you’re guaranteed that perfect funeral you always wanted, or alternatively, five years after your passing so that everyone can revel in your amazing glory. More suggestions please. Tatty Bi x
Day 5: Terminal Issues – Discount – 3020
Helo again, Day five of the experiment, and it has backfired, in a sense – I’m not doing anything more as I had planned; no, instead of planning elaborate things for my day to be filled with, I’m just highlighting my failure to work. Oh well!
Edinburgh was beautiful yesterday, properly sunny, so I spent the day reading outside, working away on some situationist stuff – If you’ve never encountered them, check out Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle, a book outlining the decline of western society into that of spectacle, and it is really easy to read, in fact I would say it is too easy. This is the sort of thing that every teenager should be reading, not only that, it should be in their back pocket. I know I’m only 21, but I miss that world… the one that only ever existed in french novels.
Anyway I got thinking the other day about death. But more specifically, death within the realm of the internet. Recently, a number of facebook groups have emerged as memorials to freinds passing in freak accidents, or in shootings – really terrible things; but I find their profile pages so alluring – there is a really spooky feeling, visiting the page of a ghost – not least beacuse it is completely normal up to the death, and then suddenly there is a wall post that says R.I.P. It’s incredible.
but the more I think about it, the more you realise that it will soon become a genuine problem for the companies that host these sits; within a hundred years, a whole generation of people and their cyber identites will become null and void; whether on facebook, Second life or some other soon to be unveiled social network, there is going to be millions of dead facebook pages – some by then only connected to other pages of the dead. I’m sure there’s anovel in this somewhere.
BUt here’s my idea – a facebook will. Incredibly morbid, but I like to think of this as a positive action – you could opt into or out of accont deletion, allowing your webspace and photos to be owned by other peopl perhaps, just as you opt in or out of your organs being used after your death; or why not donate this space to cancer research? It’s a serious question. Or, and this is another thing I’ve found out about, why not request that after your death, messages be sent to your friends. How amazing would that be to find a dead lover has written an apology, or offers words of wisdom.. I discovered a website that travelled through time, which would send an email to you in ten years time, from which you could tell your future self something from your past… I’ve already forgotten what mine says, so I’m looking forward to that kick in the arse in ten years time.
There are other possibilities – it could just be simple things, like changing your profile picture every few months, or changing your status to “ants are eating my face” or “you know what, this heaven thing is overrated”. Or more positively, why not ask your facebook will to create an event for your own memorial, either directly after your death so that you’re guaranteed that perfect funeral you always wanted, or alternatively, five years after your passing so that everyone can revel in your amazing glory. More suggestions please. Tatty Bi x