Our Weekly Tip: Using Social Media as a Touching Memorial

Credit: MKH Marketing

Our Tip of the Week: Many of us spend hours every day online. What happens to our social media accounts after we die? What you might not know is that you get to choose. Popular websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube let their users control what happens to their accounts posthumously, according to the O’Grady Law Group. You can select someone to take over your account to keep your online legacy alive, or you can make your profile into a memorial page for your friends and family to share happy memories. All of this is at the click of a button, and you can do it right now.

How-to Suggestion: To choose what happens to your Facebook page in the event of your death, go to “settings” on your profile. Select the “security” tab, then click on “legacy contact.” From there, you can decide to delete your account automatically after you die if you don’t want your online presence to continue on without you. If you want to keep your profile alive, choose one of your Facebook friends to take over your page in the event of your death. Make sure this person is someone you can trust with your online life. Give this person contact instructions about what you want him or her to post on your wall after you die, and tell your contact how you want your online persona to live on. The more specific you are, the better your memorial profile will be. Your friends and family will treasure having a space online to come together in your memory.