The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

I stumbled upon Facebook’s mortality settings — and realized I had an important decision to make

I was confronted with the mortality of my body and the immortality of the self I leave on social media

Perspective by
Lily contributor
August 18, 2019 at 9:15 a.m. EDT
(Sage Coffey/For The Washington Post)

I never expected to find anything about death when scrolling through my settings on Facebook. But then I stumbled upon Facebook’s mortality settings: settings made for the user to control what happens to their Facebook profile after they die. Confronted with the mortality of my body and the immortality of the self I leave on social media, I had a decision to make: Who will take over my social media after I die?