Digital Access, Digital Literacy, and Afterlife Preparedness: Societal Contexts of Digital Afterlife Traces

This study aims to evaluate how individuals are prepared to cope with or plan for their afterlife digital footprints, by examining how (1) access, (2) literacy, and (3) preparedness for digital afterlife work in concert to influence one’s wellbeing. We found the indirect relationship between access and wellbeing and the influence of digital literacy on wellbeing was indirect, illustrating that the key to the puzzle is in the sequential step in which digital literacy incubates the readiness to cope with digital remains, which influences one’s subjective wellbeing. One of the most unrecognized challenges facing digital traces is the exploitation of post-life remain of data, as the question of who accesses, owns, or controls personal data after death remains largely unanswered. We argue that the preparedness for digital afterlife represents a new form of social concern with real-life consequences, or even a newer space for inequality debates.