Losing Someone in the Social Network
Is it Any Less Shocking?
With that being said, is it any less shocking to find out that a person whom you only knew as craftgal123 or pcgod45 has passed away? When you are accustomed to seeing forum posts, Tweets or Facebook updates from this person, is it any less of a loss than if you knew them face to face?
Actually, I should rephrase that. I ought to say "in-person" as face to face no longer necessarily means being at the same place at the same time. With webcams and video phones we are able to converse and relate to people face to face over the internet, without ever stepping foot in the same room together.
I bring up this topic because today I discovered a person I knew in one of my favorite forums had passed away a week ago. This person had a large and well-known personality in the forum. He was quick with smart-ass replies, but his wit was well-loved by the regulars.
Although I never met him in-person, or even seen his face, I still found that the knowledge of his departure shocking. When reading the post that announced the news I at first thought it to be a joke. Then when I read on and saw all the replies it became real. My heart actually jumped and my brain said "Wow!" Slowly, the realization that his sharp-tongued, usually humorous posts would now be absent from the forum settled into my mind.
It feels rather lame and unfulfilling to offer condolences through a forum post, but I did so anyway. Makes me wonder though, would a family be surprised if they received hundreds of cards from around the world offering their condolences to "the family of user128"?
Published by Allana Calhoun
I'm a working mother who has been writing poetry and short stories since I was a child. I also do crafts and create handmade jewelry. View profile
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28 Comments
Post a CommentGreat written.
Great written.
Intersting development in OnLine friendships...I care about my online friends and communicate with them more often than the live ones.
I totally understand what you mean. Like Jennifer, I was really saddened by the loss of AC contributer, Betty Malone. I never met her but she was my friend and my encouragement. Very well written article.
Sad truths ... of course, sometimes we don't ever hear what happened or why someone seemed to vanish from the network. One of the strange mysteries of cyber-community, I suppose.
Makes you think for sure.
Even Facebook announced "memorialized accounts" for users who pass away. Basically locking the account into a perpetual state of how it looked the last time the user logged in.
Social networking has certainly made people think "what happens to our online identity when we are no longer?"
Great Job!! :)
This is very sad, and I'm sorry you've lost this person. We're all real people behind the names and avatars, and sometimes others forget this. Just because we haven't met in person doesn't really matter. Some of my very best friends I've only 'met' online, and I'd be very sad if they passed on or quit communicating with me.
I've become very close to several AC writers, and losing any of them would be no different from losing a "real life" friend. Very thought-provoking article.
This makes me think of the recent passing of an AC community member, Betty Malone. I felt the same sort of shock when I learned of her death, though we never met in real life, or even online face-to-face. Just pictures, bios, our articles and communications! Its enough to feel connected, and so its enough to make the loss sad and heavy, even if there wasn't a deep friendship in "real" life. Interesting piece here, thanks!