Digital memories, digital legacy

Why is it important to pay attention to this topic?

The funeral industry is looking at new areas beyond the strict care of a deceased person's remains because nowadays, each of us has a physical body and a "digital body" made up of the data we produce in vast quantities every day. This raises questions and interest within the industry and, most importantly, among families about how to handle digital heritage. If we leave it unchecked, it will likely be forgotten (the least painful option) or misused – exploited beyond our control.

We ask 3 broad questions about digital legacy to Giulia Salis Nioi, Chief Executive Officer at Zephorum, Italy.

Katarzyna Supa: At Tanexpo 2024, you spoke about how the dynamics of the funeral industry are changing, that the funeral industry is turning its attention beyond areas strictly related to the execution of the funeral ceremony. Funeral companies are offering, in different countries with different intensities, services related to legal support, psychological support in bereavement and ... increasingly also in topics related to legacy both genetic and digital. The company you manage offers solutions to help you manage digital heritage. What is digital heritage / digital legacy? Why is it important for us as funeral directors to pay attention to this topic?

Giulia Salis Nioi: The pandemic has changed many things: it has created new needs and has caused a revenue crisis all over western countries. But, paraphrasing a famous saying, “where there’s a wall there is a way”. And every crisis brings with itself new opportunities to grow and to move towards the future. Digital heritage refers to the information, records, and memories preserved in digital form. This includes a vast array of content such as emails, social media posts, photos, videos, and documents stored in cloud archives. As we navigate our lives increasingly online, these digital assets collectively represent our personal histories and legacies. As funeral directors, understanding and embracing digital heritage is crucial for several reasons:
Holistic Commemoration: Traditionally, we have focused on physical memorabilia such as photos, letters, and personal belongings to commemorate a person's life. In today's digital age, a significant portion of a person's identity and life story is captured and shared online. Incorporating digital heritage into commemoration practices allows us to create a more complete and authentic remembrance.
Client Demand: Families increasingly seek ways to memorialize their loved ones digitally. This can range from creating online memorial pages to preserving social media profiles as a digital shrine. By offering services that address these needs, we can provide more comprehensive and modern support to grieving families.
Legacy Preservation: Digital assets are susceptible to loss if not properly managed. Files can be accidentally deleted, accounts can be deactivated, and online content can disappear over time. As funeral directors, we can play a pivotal role in advising and assisting families in preserving these digital legacies for future generations.
Digital Security: There is a growing concern about the misuse of digital content. For instance, personal data can be vulnerable to unauthorized access, and there is the potential for digital assets to be exploited for malicious purposes such as identity theft or deepfake creation. By providing secure digital legacy services, we can help protect the deceased’s digital identities and the privacy of their loved ones.
The Digital legacy encompasses any information or media created, stored, and accessed in digital form, such as email, social networks, and cloud archives. Each type of these providers in facts contains the story of the individual, from professional communications and important information to photos and videos documenting personal milestones, events, and everyday moments. In the end are also documents, presentations, and other files that provide a repository of an individual’s digital footprint.

The misuse of digital content, particularly through techniques like deepfake creation, highlights the importance of securing digital heritage. For example, a report by Deeptrace estimated that deepfake videos were doubling every six months and are going to raise with the public usage of AI tools. These videos can be used maliciously to spread misinformation or create damaging content. Unactive profiles are also very likely to be monitored and hacked for illegal purposes. According to the Horizon Europe EITHOS – European Identity Theft Observatory System, Europe is the geographic area most affected by this crime, with 31% of identity thefts occurring worldwide. Among those, it is estimated that almost 40% of identity thefts worldwide concerns stolen profiles of deceased people. We are talking about millions of profiles every year.
It is very important for funeral directors to understand this underserved need and integrate digital heritage into their services, in order to offer enhanced support to families, ensuring their loved ones' memories are preserved comprehensively and securely. Moreover, by addressing the potential abuses of digital content, they can safeguard the legacies of the deceased against modern threats, providing peace of mind to their families.

Read the whole article in the winter issue of THANOS magazine - you can read online at pages19-21