One of a series of leaflets published by The Compassionate Friends Using the digital world as a place to remember Creating online memorials An online memorial is a website, blog or page where we can post stories, comments and pictures of our child. Examples of memorial websites are much loved or viva memory. One of the great advantages of an online memorial is that it can be visited by anyone at any time, no matter where they are in the world. Friends and family in other parts of the country or overseas will have immediate access. An online community can be just as real as a physical one. Virtual memorial sites offer the opportunity to post photographs, videos and text. Some offer their services free, while others charge a monthly or annual fee. We may wish to check that a site we intend to use has privacy settings which empowers a moderator (usually ourselves or other nominated family members) to see and approve any post before it is permitted to go on the site. Other important issues Web-based services do not always endure. Memorial sites can close down, so if we upload content online to create virtual memorials or support our child’s digital legacy, we should also back these up onto our own devices. It is a good idea to make a list of websites and services and store the passwords in a safe manner. We should be cautious of online ‘legacy’ services that offer to store passwords and other important data. These could be scams, or simply may not last. The digital world and our memories of our child Life can be a huge struggle as we miss our children daily. Many of us have found that finding ways of keeping connections with our child helps us cope. Looking at online pictures and reading posts can be a way of doing this. If our child was a social media user, then it can be wonderful to be able to ‘hear’ their voice through their posts, messages and photos. If we are a ‘friend’ of our child on Facebook, we will be able to read comments made by friends and family and this can be very comforting. Even with something
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