The Afterlife of Data: What Happens to Your Information When You Die and Why You Should Care

The Afterlife of Data: What Happens to Your Information When You Die and Why You Should Care

Digital Humanities

Social media and the internet has become a major presence in the lives of people that we have curated our own identities online, but what happens to this digital footprint once someone passes away? Even as the number of users and accounts on the internet increase every minute of the day, Carl Öhman addresses that “the dead will outnumber the living on Facebook”. While individuals can write a will to distribute their property after death, the same isn’t so easy with a digital footprint. With companies like Meta and X playing a huge role in data sharing, it’s increasingly difficult to say whether our data is truly our own—and if it isn’t, “who should have the right to decide what happens to our data?” In The Afterlife of Data, Öhman explores these questions while urging individuals to take control of their data.

Öhman ,Carl

The University of Chicago Press

2024-04-11

Amanda Dabao

Book

ISBN-13: 9780226828237

Öhman, Carl. The Afterlife of Data: What Happens to Your Information When You Die and Why You Should Care. United Kingdom: University of Chicago Press, 2024.