Networked Digital Library | Blog: In Action Network

A little over a year ago, I was shocked when I received news that a former high school friend passed away unexpectedly. Death is obviously a universal part of human existence, but it's difficult to accept when sudden death claims the life of a young person.

With time, and a busy schedule, the tragedy began to slowly fade from memory and life continued. Weeks later, however, as I logged onto Facebook one afternoon, a photo on the right side of my Facebook homepage leapt out and clamored for my attention. I immediately recognized the face of my deceased friend. Until then, I hadn't thought about the fact that we were Facebook friends and, what I can only describe as an eerie feeling, flooded my body. Perhaps even more disturbing, was the caption under the photo, which prompted me to "reconnect with [name withheld]."

Unfortunately, my voyeurism won out and I clicked on my friend's profile, expecting a relatively dated message thread. What I saw, however, was anything but. A thriving and very long list of messages littered the profile page and the latest was posted within a day or two. I was simultaneously touched and angered. The public outpouring of support was inspiring, but Facebook's inability to take down the profile (as if they knew what had happened) was, to say the least, seemingly insensitive. I continued to visit my friend's profile from time to time, fully expecting less and less activity. As of today, the last message dates back only seven days.