EMAILING
AFTER DEATH

Topics: Communication; Computers; Death; Eternity; Grief; Inheritance; Legacy; Mortality; Perspective; Technology; Time

References: Deuteronomy 4:9; Psalm 78:4–7; Isaiah 38:18; Joel 1:3; 2 Corinthians 10:10–11; 2 Timothy 1:14; Hebrews 9:27–28

For a yearly fee of $19.95, you can send emails after you die. Credit Dr. David Eagleman, an assistant professor of neuroscience and psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, for that benefit. He created Deathswitch, an automated online service that allows a person to send an email after your death to preselected recipients, usually containing critical personal information of the deceased. “It can be anything from computer passwords or a love note to the last word in an argument,” Eagleman says.

Eagleman sees his service as a way of bridging mortality. The idea for Deathswitch came from his love of the Internet and how it can extend the human experience. “It would be so interesting to receive an email from someone who passed away,” Eagleman says. “I don’t think there’s any honor in being silent in death.”

Brian Rosenthal, the CEO of the Silicon Valley-based e-commerce consulting firm Robocommerce, has signed up for Deathswitch. “It extends our reach,” says Rosenthal. “You can store some part of yourself that lasts beyond your life.”

Others have their doubts, including Rob Frankel, a Los Angeles-based branding consultant. “Nobody wants to think about their demise,” he says. “It’s hard enough to get someone to buy a cemetery plot.”

—Associated Press, “One Enterprising Houston Scientist Is Using the Internet to Offer His Customers the Last Word,” Houston Chronicle (January 9, 2007)