Martian Notes

It’s 18 August 2019, a normal Sunday, like most of them.

It suddenly occurred to me that I want to keep a weekly blog post, to keep record of the sparkles of my random thoughts. It sounded cliché but I start anyway in my can-do spirit (too many job-hunting writing recently).

Yesterday I talked about digital legacy with GG, my boss, mentor and intellectual friend (lucky me). In an era of pervasive digital presence, mobile is more like an external human organ, the 24/7 companion. With the support of constantly-updating digital devices, we are diligently enriching our lives in the virtual world on an everyday basis. Our digital traces are increasingly mounting to an uncountable level, as we constantly upload new pictures, send new comments and make new connections online. So, what would happen to our digital traces after we were erased from the real world ? How could we do with our digital legacy?

We make a will in advance to ensure that our assets would be handled as planned after we were gone. Meanwhile, should we make plan for our digital legacy? Would posthumous cyber bullying be possible if we left it unattended? It is not overconsideration or paranoid. Just think whether we want to be found out everything we did online after we were gone. If the answer is no, let’s talk about precautionary measures.

Bobo and I have a discussion last night. One way is that the user could make a digital will, based on legislations that would be available in future, in which the user entrusts another person to take care of his or her digital legacy. When the entrustor passes away, the entrustee could handle the digital legacy in an authorized manner. Software companies could provide considerate services like downloading the entire user’s profile for the convenience of the legacy handler. But this would raise the question that whether the departed user’s profile need to be existing or erased? That would a necessary part of the digital will, specifying what action should be taken towards the digital legacy,

The second proposal sounds rude and reckless, which is to close the account once it remains inactive for a certain period of time, like a year, in situation where the user made no digital will. This proposal may cause unimaginable intellectual losses, considering the distant similarity to the cases that would have happened to Franz Kafka’s writing or Paul Gauguin’s painting. Well, at least posthumous shaming would be averted.

On the contrary, Bobo thought it was too troublesome for individuals to handle all the digital legacies as we have so many accounts. He came up with this business idea to start up a third-party handler, which would offer professional services in handling digital legacy; prepaid, of course. The business could be expanded to making digital will and others, thus providing the one package service for a digital farewell. A digital funeral could be recommended. Would a live broadcast of digital funeral catch the attention of followers? At least not smiley faces.

Making a digital will could lighten up the mood. The revived memories of all those LOLs and WOWs would bring a grin to the one who was making careful arrangement for the extra organ. So when the day of separation finally came, let the screen light dim down for the last time.