Beyond the Grave

Northwest Association of Death Education and Bereavement Support

Portland, OR // July 11th, 2013

JED R. BRUBAKER

INFORMATICS // UC IRVINE

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408,000 U.S. Facebook users died in 2011 VIA

ENTRUSTET

580,000 U.S.Facebook users died in 2012 VIA

ENTRUSTET

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memorializing the dead

obituaries present the deceased in a positive light

relative to contemporary norms

{ Hume, J. Obituaries in American Culture. 2000. }

“storying” the identity of the deceased enables

survivors to find meaning in loss

{ Harvey, J. H. et al. Embracing their memory. 2001. }

conflicting stories of the deceased can result in

“postmortem identity-contests”

{ Martin, D. D. Identity Management of the Dead. 2010. }

memorializing the dead (online)

{ Roberts, P. & Vidal, L. Perpetual care in cyberspace. 2000.

Roberts, P. The living and the dead. 2004.

Roberts, P. & Schall, D. “Hey Dad, its me again…” 2005. }

Frequency of comments relative to date of death“We will never forget you [online]”, Brubaker & Hayes, CSCW 2011

Dea

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Frequency of comments across the calendar year, pre vs. post-mortem“We will never forget you [online]”, Brubaker & Hayes, CSCW 2011

Frequency of comments relative to deceased’s date of birth“We will never forget you [online]”, Brubaker & Hayes, CSCW 2011

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post-mortem social

networkingSHARING MEMORIES

POSTING UPDATES

MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS

I remember in 8th grade, with Mrs. DeWerff's

science class. We had to do measurements on a

bicycle tire, and we couldn't figure it out... We

measured it 3 different ways... Needless to say-

we were wrong. Haha. :// Liz

i wish you could have met my baby nephew. he's

beautiful. i know you wanted to see him, but you

can see him now anytime you want from up

there! :// Rebecca

Hope everything is going well up there…

:// James

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expanding death into the everyday

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spatial social temporal

{ Brubaker, Hayes & Dourish. Beyond the Grave: Facebook as a site for the expansion of death and mourning. The Information Society, 2013. }

More “friends” will

survive our deaths than any

previous generation.

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[I]t would help us each know the Mike that the other

one knew. Like I know the high school Mike.

I would love to know what the college Mike was

like and the after college Mike was like.

:// Laura

I actually got to know her diving friends... Those

are people that I never had a chance to meet….

:// Nina

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But I think that after I let time go by, I would

shut down the Wall, even if people were irritated

by it... it’s just like after a certain point like death

isn’t public property anymore. You have to let it

just [be] with the family.

:// Catherine

Who ever is running Tony’s profile now… plz

NEVER delete it.

:// Post from MySpace

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key thoughts

Social media is increasing exposure to

death and grief.

New types of “friends” results in new types

of loss.

Online profiles, networks, and digital

content present new challenges for the

bereaved

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practical strategies

Create a separate Facebook Group in

addition to the profile.

Often someone other than the next-of-kin is

better positioned to steward the profile.

Be careful. Many actions are

technologically irreversible.

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thanks.

Special thanks to my advisors and collaborators: Gillian Hayes, Paul Dourish, Geof Bowker, Melissa Mazmanian, Funda Kivran-Swaine, and Lee Taber.

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jedbrubaker.com

jed.brubaker@uci.edu

@whatknows