Facebook sent me a reminder to wish a friend a happy birthday.
Problem: the friend died nearly 6 years ago. I was the administrator of his
estate; I notified Facebook and they required me to send a copy of his death
certificate before they would delete his data. I didn’t have another certificate
handy and the estate was closed. So that was that.
Ever since I get annual reminders of Steve’s birthday.
How many others have this same experience? How many
thousands or millions of people are in Facebook Limbo?
Seems to me FB would want something like this cleaned up.
We had a couple in our church. Elderly; they both succumbed
within months of each other. Each was sparkly and a fountain of good spirit. We
helped nurse them to their ends. Now years later their Facebook accounts remind
us of their birthdays as though they are alive and well. They are, of course,
in our memories. The FB reminder, though, always seems macabre to me.
Other examples come to mind, too. It is good to remember
these kind and gentle people. Somehow it doesn’t feel right that their Facebook
presence doesn’t register their passing.
Is this a modern form of eternal life? I hope not!
August 28, 2019
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