Do you Kill your Dead Friends?

Sorry about the title. I wasn’t sure what was the best way to put it. I am not talking about physically killing a dead friend. First of all, because it’s a friend, and people don’t usually kill friends (I mean, it happens, but). Secondly, you can’t kill someone who is no longer alive.

I am talking about people whom you are friends on online social platforms, and they die. What do you do with them? Do you keep them on your friend’s list or accept the reality and let them go?

When the first of my Facebook friends passed away, I wondered what I should do. I put some thought on it, and finally decided to keep her. One thing is the person goes; a different one is that you actively delete them. Besides, she was not only a Facebook friend but someone I truly loved. Simply erasing her avatar from my list seemed too hard; it felt like killing her again. It would have probably been easier if she had only been a Facebook friend.

That was in 2015. Since then, another five Facebook friends have passed away (plus another different four from LinkedIn that I am aware of). In some cases, people for whom I also had a lot of affection. Like the first time, I decided to keep them after wondering a bit. 

But I am getting old, and, if I keep being around, I suppose this will be happening more and more often. I don’t want to end up owning an online cemetery. Today I decided I was ready to let my friends go and pressed the killing button. They will remain alive in my memory, which I guess is where they’re supposed to be now.