A PSYCHOLOGIST has revealed how to handle the social media accounts of loved ones who have died – and how the process can help with grief.
With everyone and anyone having a social media presence, many of us will leave behind a posthumous digital legacy.
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This can cause distress for many as automatic features – such as birthday reminders – may continue to appear on the feeds of those who are grieving.
This conundrum begs the question: what should be done with the deceased’s social media accounts?
As behavioural psychologist and hypnotherapist Dipti Tait explains, there is an impact that those who are grieving have to grapple with when their friend or family member passes.
“Social media can be a positive thing and a hugely negative thing”, Dipti told MailOnline.
“For some people it isn’t useful to have reminders of the departed person due to a variety of delicate and sensitive reasons.
“On the other side, there’s a sense of community in grieving together.
“Of course the level of which you would like to be memorialized is up to you.
“There are steps people can take before you die to set the boundaries of how you will be remembered.”
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Most social media platforms offer a legacy contact option – enabling surviving associates to take control of the account.
Legacy contacts post a final message on the profile, and it is turned into a memorial where friends can post messages of remembrance and sympathy.
Unsuitable content can be moderated by the legacy contact.
The concept is simple, but gaining control of an account can be a lengthy and fatiguing ordeal.
In most cases, you must provide a copy of the user’s death certificate or an obituary.
Dipti continued: “It’s important to talk to your close ones before you pass so they avoid the bureaucracy of dealing with the social media companies.
“Sometimes it can be hard to get your message across which can cause unnecessary grief.
“It’s a strange conversation to have but it’s one worth having.”
Dipti explains that being routinely reminded of a loved one’s demise can be emotionally negative.
She continued: “For some, the reminders of the people no longer with us can be untimely and provoke a reaction in a place that we feel is inappropriate.
“This can affect us when we have not fully accepted the reality of the death or the loss, and we may react by pushing down our emotions quickly so that the grief feels contained.”
For those who wish to expunge the digital memory of the deceased to avoid further trauma, there is an option to deactivate their account.
If a Twitter user dies, the company says it will work with a person authorised to act on the behalf of the estate – or a verified immediate family member – to have an account deactivated.
Elsewhere, Pinterest will not hand over log in details for a dead user, but it will deactivate their account if you send an email with a list of required information, including proof of the user’s death.
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