Online Presence Never Dies

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My online presence will live forever – my online presence never dies.

Have you thought about what happens to our online presence once we have left this world?

Online presence: what happens to these when we are gone?

I have a Facebook account and a Twitter account and a Tumblr account and a YouTube account.  I have a Tripit account and another website currently parked – not being used at the moment but does include quite a bit of data.  I also have a WordPress account with a blogsite that includes writings, posts and pictures and media files of me and my life.

What happens to this online presence once I have left this world?

Will my online presence live forever – will my online presence die?

I have all the necessary documents prepared for when my life ends.  I have the Will, I have the instructions upon my death, it is all prepared.  The instructions state to delete all my online presence and to wipe away my existence.  First I think about, will this actually occur.  After all I am assuming whoever is left with this responsibility will actually delete my online presence.

Then I think about, if they actually delete my online presence, is it really deleted?  I assume, my online presence will be deleted someday.  I am hoping who is responsible for this follows through with my wishes.

But am I really deleted from online forever, never to have existed?  I really do not think so – I am there somewhere filed away in terabytes of data.  Maybe someday I will show up again or maybe just left there never to be seen or read or listened to again.  Why do I care, if I am already gone from this world?  After all I am dead, why do I care that I still live in the online presence world?

In my post ‘Legacy‘, I concluded with the following –

The book will most likely never be written, and I am okay with this realization – my autobiography, my memoir is this blog.

This blog is what I want to leave as a legacy; to my kids or whoever else is interested in reading about me and my life.

In today’s post, I conclude with the following –

I am not sure why I waste my mind on thinking about what will happen with this blog once my life has ended.  Why do I really care?  Part of me wants to leave something behind, a reminder I guess that I was here.  Part of me wants to leave nothing behind, as if I were never here.  This battle in my brain, in my mind is a struggle between my existence being one of worth or one of waste.

Why would I want to leave an online presence, an existence that was a waste?  Then again, that online presence, and existence may be worth something to someone, someday.

59 thoughts on “Online Presence Never Dies”

  1. The memory of someone you love is a curious thing. It should and can be something that is simply carried inside but something more durable, something like pictures, or recordings of a voice, or video really do help when the pit of despair threatens to swallow us in grief. What we have written be it nonsense on FaceBook, forty character naughties on Twitter or the more substantial things we choose to blog is a picture of us, a snapshot in the same way as the grinning or grimacing photo is. I guess the reality is that it might mean something to someone and it is for them to decide what is worthwhile, not for us. And I would like to think that what you have created is a legacy …. you are worthy of being remembered. Very worthy indeed 🙂

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    • Thanks Osyth, I am not quite sure I am worthy of being remembered (my self-esteem thinking), but I do appreciate your kind comment. I wrestle between wanting something left behind and having nothing left behind. In reality, once I am gone, I will not have any control over this – and why should I really care at that point? Happy day my friend! 🙂

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  7. I’ve had a few friends/acquaintances pass away over the course of the last few years. Every now and then, someone will post something on their Facebook wall and I will get a post on my feed. I really enjoy these unexpected reminders of people who are no longer with us, as they inevitably bring up fond memories of the times we had together.

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  8. Talking the experience of losing Someone close to me, it is always a comfort for someone to read the words or feelings. I don’t think everything gets deleted no matter how hard you try.

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    • Thank you Roxie, it is nice to know that there are others that find comfort in having an online presence of someone that has passed on. It is a subject I have thought about for a while and debated with myself about whether I really want mine out there or not. I appreciate you reading and commenting! But as you indicated, nothing really get deleted does it? Have a great day my friend. 🙂

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  10. I don’t think we ever know when our time has come to bid farewell to the world, but one thing is for sure, we will always be somewhere 🙂 And, the thing is when we have gone, we have no control over anything, no matter what our wishes are. All we can do is hope and pray our wishes are respected, but even if they are …we will always be somewhere. What I do know is you will be in my heart forever 🙂 Have a great day…..

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    • I agree Lynne about having no control, and maybe that is an issue for me – I want to have control of what happens with my online presence after I am gone. I guess I just need to let this go! You are a sweetheart, very nice to me all the time – thank you! 🙂

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  12. I have thought the same thing a few times too especially since I have more than a dozen different online accounts or presences from one time or another. Plus quite a few of them are slightly different “profiles” that have been set-up slightly differently. For example, ones in which I was working on behalf of other people, ones of my own from different time periods in my life and even just professional versus more personal ones.
    However, for me, I think in the end, I like the idea that perhaps my kids would appreciate being able to see them after I’m gone. Just for them to get a better picture or perhaps a more well-rounded idea of who I really was as a person. Someone besides “Mummy.”
    Maybe I’m too sentimental and they won’t give a cr*p! Who knows. lol

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    • LOL, I understand, I really don’t think my kids will give a cr*p either! One reason for me to have everything deleted or at least removed so other people see it no longer. Most likely it will be out there somewhere for eternity! 🙂

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      • True, everyone does say you can never really delete stuff from the internet.Maybe it all just gets shipped out into space in chunks of gigabites! Can you imagine, soon space will be full of all of us sorry folks’ blog posts bundled into gigabite bundles! Okay, weird thought. lol

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  14. What if a giant meteorite strikes and we all obliterated including our blogs??? That’s a cheery note to start with. 🙂 Your legacy lives on in every person you have affected from your followers, to your husband and most importantly your children and grandchildren. I am convinced that not only do we inherit DNA but some kind of genetic memory. As far as our species is concerned, the dinosaurs have still beaten us in terms of longevity and we are but an interesting speck in the universe. 🙂

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    • My legacy may live on in every person I have affected, but after all those people are gone, then what happens? At that point, I guess it does not matter. As you indicated, we are just an interesting speck in the universe. Thanks dear, hope you are feeling better today. 🙂

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      • I guess this is a philosophical query, so my answer would be that every action has a reaction for eons. All the plants and animals that died to provide us with fossil fuel affect us every day when we cook a meal or drive to work. You don’t have to leave a virtual legacy to have created one. I often think about past ancestors and my favorite is Mourning Dawn, who was a native American healer. Her grandson was a confederate medic in the Civil War using some of her native remedies. My inherited mental illness made me a very empathetic project worker. Maybe your blogs have allowed someone to reveal a hidden abuse or reveal their true identity, and live a much happier life. Perhaps it will all be revealed in the hereafter?

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  15. Your existence is not a waste, you mustn’t speak like that. You will leave a legacy, and right now, you’re documenting what will one day be history and will be a fascinating tale in the future. I love reading what life was like 100 years ago and the daily struggles from back then, some of which are very different from today and some not so much. I also love reading about my grandparents’ lives… I wish they would’ve journaled more. And then again, who knows… maybe you’ll come back in your next life, read what you wrote, and think, “Hmmm, I feel oddly connected to this person… I wonder why.” 😀 (You probably won’t read this until the morning, so, Good Morning Terry! Have a great Wednesday!! :D)

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  16. Funny Terry, that very thought has crossed my mind…will someday 50 years from now someone come across our ramblings of how we express our self to each other, our most inner fears, thoughts and desires…..I agree with Fiona, that not only have your post touched our lives but will if it happens in the future touch those you will never meet…..your a good man, and have good messages for many…..be proud…..xxkat

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    • Thank you kat, I appreciate your kind words. I believe you are correct, 50 years or longer someone will come across our blogs – our lives and I hope they find us interesting and intriguing! Have a happy day, hope your trip continues to be fun and exciting! Safe travels! 🙂

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  17. It´s a very sensitive topic, I believe and I haven´t thought of it that much so far but will do now!! And there´s absolutely no way how your existence couldn´t be worth something to someone – don´t you see how we all care about you?? 🙂 You´re making a big impression here and in real life as well!!! Stop thinking about those things, and enjoy the now – I know you can!!! Wish you a truly beautiful day, my friend!!! 🙂 xxx

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  18. Sometimes I think, I want to shut it all down and live off of the grid. Seriously, lol. I never thought about deleting it all in my Will. Shoot, half of my passwords are just in my head! Well, you’ve got me thinking now Terry. I think I’m going back to pool boogie.

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  19. I really like your blog but can’t post comments because I have Google. I don’t even know if you actually get this reply or if it goes somewhere in the WordPress World. Just wanted to let you know you have a follower on the west coast who’s wishing you all the best. Thanks for taking the time to write.

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  21. Even if your online presence is deleted, you will be remembered by all us bloggers, those who have followed your story and enjoyed, laughed, cried at them along with you. The electronic presence won’t be there but your words and the impact you have made in our lives will be! I must admit if my blog or facebook accounts bring happiness to my friends and family when I have left this world whether its laughing at my posts or looking through photos then i’d be quite happy to have these accounts live. I have a couple of friends on facebook that are no longer with us but their accounts are still live and many derive comfort from leaving messages of rememberance and tagging them in old photos.

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    • I understand your reasoning for leaving something behind so others can find some comfort – makes prefect sense. I also have not thought about the impact I could have on others some day in the future after I am gone. Something to think about for sure. Thanks for reading and commenting, I think you were away on holiday, right? 🙂

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