the ghost of social media

after just a few years, we have all had the opportunity to see the strength and influence social media has had on the world. we have all been exposed to things we would not normally see, experience things we never knew existed, but most importantly reconnect with old friends. how funny is it when someone from your kindergarten class facebooks you or when the boy you used to have a crush on @replies you?! but how about never being able to see updates from that friend again; never being able to see what they are doing, how they are feeling, or who they are with. how do we treat the online profiles of the deceased?

a bunch of us lost a good friend this past summer in Afghanistan. Lance Corporal James Argentine was a U.S. Marine killed in a roadside bomb on August 6, 2009. needless to say, this news broke fast and hard. in fact, many of us heard about it through the social web (status updates, mass messages, etc). how could this happen? why did it have to happen to James? the kid whose religious views on facebook quote "Wu-Tang Financial" (I'm not kidding, see below)

 
seeing friends from high school gather in his memory brought more laughs than sobs as we recollected the jokes he would always pull on those around him.

as time passed, the news of his death became more and more believable as the idea of him not being here settled within all of us. however, just 2 months after his untimely death something reminded us that he is not entirely gone. there is still a presence of James that allows us to communicate with him and let him know what we are doing, how we are feeling, and who we are with: facebook.

for all of James' facebook friends, the social networking site reminded us that it has indeed been a while since we've talked. a new addition to the right side bar upon login let us all know that James is indeed still among us. and while no one necessarily expected a response, a flood of wall posts to James kept popping up on my feed.

the death of another close friend within the same group 2 months later reminded me how fragile life is, but how endless it can be if you have an online presence. how odd and unreal it can be, that someone is present in a virtual aspect of life but not a physical. through memorial groups, wall posts, notes and even twitter lists the spirit and memory of those lost can live on. while some may argue that this is insensitive i would respectfully disagree. because of this, we can relive what their last thoughts were, how they were feeling, and who meant something to them.

James and Berger, we miss you dearly but thank you for everything you've done for us during your short time here on Earth. in just over two decades, you managed to make a difference in many lives, which is something not many can accomplish. only God knows what you could have done with some more time with us. May you two rest peacefully, and please check your facebook often. everyone has some good things to say, including a few wall posts that might make you laugh up there in heaven

Also, I can't write about James and not include this video, definitely brings on the LULZ: