Mausoleums of The Web
On the things we leave behind online
I lost my grandad recently. He was a kind, caring, and good man who I miss very much.
When you lose someone, I think it’s only natural that you try to find ways to connect with them, even though they’re not there anymore. That might mean looking through old photo albums, gravitating towards sentimental possessions, or something more spiritual or ritualistic. One thing I surprisingly found myself turning to, following my grandad’s passing, was social media.
I first found myself looking back at my grandad’s old Facebook account to see the comments people had left there. And while I’m not the biggest fan of social media platforms, I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t heartwarming to see all the things people had to say.
Obviously, there were messages from close friends and family. But there were also words from old work colleagues, neighbors past and present from up and down the street where he lived, owners of the shops and restaurants he frequented, and seemingly everyone and anyone he had ever said “hi” to, such is the effect he had on the people he met.
Yet, as lovely as that was, the reason I found myself coming back to his social profile wasn’t for the messages from other people. It was for the messages from him.
