According to a new study by Carl J. Öhman and David Watson of the University of Oxford, the number of deaths in the digital world is estimated to exceed the number of living people by 2070, ranging between 1.4 and 4.9 billion. Regardless of whether this is a conservative or liberal scenario, both Asia and Africa will have the highest number of deaths on Facebook in the coming years.
The rise of the digital dead is becoming an increasing concern as more and more people move their lives online, leaving behind a digital legacy that is just as much a part of their physical lives. For the past four years, Facebook has been grappling with how to properly manage the profiles of deceased users, striving to ensure that the friends of these users don't receive birthday notifications or seek suggestions from their departed friend. Recently, the social network introduced a Memorial tab that allows users to designate old contacts who can curate posts, change tag settings, edit or cover photos, pin posts, and respond to friend requests. Old contacts are unable to read private messages, remove friends, or add new ones.
The dead are estimated to outnumber the living in the digital world by 2070, numbering somewhere between 1.4 billion and 4.9 billion, according to a new study by Carl J. Öhman and David Watson from the University of Oxford. Regardless of whether a conservative or liberal scenario is employed, both Asia and Africa will have the highest number of deceased individuals on Facebook in the coming years.
The rise of the digital dead is increasingly becoming an issue as more people begin to live their lives online, leaving behind a digital life as much as a physical one. Over the past four years, Facebook has been grappling with how to appropriately deal with profiles of dead users, trying to ensure that the friends of deceased users do not get birthday notifications or invite suggestions from their deceased friend. Recently, the social network rolled out a memorial tab, which allows people to designate legacy contacts who can curate posts, modify tag settings, change or cover photos, pin posts, and respond to friend requests. Legacy contacts are not able to read private messages or remove friends or make new ones.
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