In previous articles I have written about the importance of a person’s digital legacy. (See my website: www.attorneybarbaradalvano.weebly.com – sidebar Digital Legacy, Digital Inheritance)
Now, it seems that it is possible to share digital information on your headstone. Remember, this is not an idea that will appeal to everyone! But might appeal to the millennial generation, those more accustomed to sharing everything!
According to The Digital Beyond author, Robert Bruce *, who wrote about “gravestone technology” - it is possible to “update” your headstone with a television monitor that plays a series of tributes. Granted, this idea never really caught on. However, the high tech industry has another offering … the capability to insert a QR code into a headstone/memorial.
Note: QR is short of Quick Response Code. It is those small square barcodes one sees more often in stores or online. By using a smartphone to ‘read’ the QR, one can access information through the machine readable code. (Pardon to all ‘techies’ for the simplistic explanation)
This type of ‘gravestone technology’ allows for a person to remain ‘connected’ with family and friends and continue their legacy beyond their death.
Living Headstones is a firm offering the high tech QR codes for tombstones.
In another article**, it is noted: “ Companies that sell QR codes on headstones must strike a balance between providing a means of embedding and circulating knowledge while restricting the general public’s access to personal information about the dead.”
Whatever your emotions about the ‘digitization’ and privacy issues of a loved one’s headstone (Arlington Cemetery had chosen not to provide QR codes on headstones) the technology is available.
I leave it to my readers to decide and discuss their wishes with family members.
* “Robert Bruce has a passion for lending his voice towards multiple issues involving the funeral and memorial industry. When he’s not working with Great Lakes Caskets, he enjoys his hobby as a writer.”
** The Atlantic, May 21 2014 – Technology. QR Codes for the Dead by Tamara Kneese
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