thanatechnology

— Thanatechnology helps survivor(s) gain a sense of control in an experience that feels powerless (Moyer and Enck 89) and mitigates the potential of “second loss” (Bassett). Yet, while thanatechnology creates a curated digital afterlife that is relatively sustainable and can offer comfort to the bereaved, Debra Basset notes, “just as we are biologically mortal so we are digitally mortal: loss or deletion of data and the risk of contagion is a real threat to digital immortality, as digital erasure is a possibility.”