The Digital Death Survey 2024 launches and will make datasets open access.
About The Digital Death Survey
The Digital Death Survey explores how technology is changing society’s attitudes and behaviours in areas relating to care planning, death and bereavement. The secondary purpose of the survey is to familiarise participants with the importance of making plans for their increasingly complex, digital lives ensuring that appropriate plans are made for themselves, their digital possessions and those they care about.
The Digital Death Survey 2024 is being conducted by James Norris of the Digital Legacy Association (UK) in conjunction with Dr. Carla Sofka at Siena College (USA).
The Digital Death Report
The data collected is anonymous and will be made available for free (open access) within the ‘Digital Death Report’. This will be published in early 2025.
The Digital Death Report will help academics, healthcare professionals and policy makers better understand the importance of people’s digital assets and digital legacy. This will lead to advancements within the sectors in which professionals work, improve levels of care and increase levels of self-empowerment at a population level..
Early access to the Digital Death Report will be provided to those who complete the Digital Death Survey and choose to add their email in order to receive the report by email.
Why this study is important
“Ths year marks ten years since the landmark Digital Death Survey was first undertaken. During the course of the last decade attitudes and behaviours around death and dying have changed into perpetuity. Some areas of change were driven by emerging technologies, others were driven by non-technological influences such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with subsequent social isolation and lockdown measures”. – James Norris
According to previous Digital Death Survey datasets, it is becoming increasingly important that each person documents what they would like to happen to their online accounts and the digital assets they contain.
It is important that we make plans for both our ‘physical death’ and our ‘digital death’. A woven thread of memories, financial assets and personal communications are increasingly becoming intertwined within a plethora of password protected, online accounts.” – James Norris
Digital Death Survey – Question Asked (Web Browser)
The Digital Legacy Association argues that health and social care professionals should be raising awareness and supporting communities with their digital lives. Furthermore the Digital Legacy Association argues that planning for our digital lives should be included as a holistic approach to advance care planning.
“In a society where technology plays an important role in daily life, planning for one’s digital legacy is equally important to planning for one’s health care at the end of life.” – Professor Carla Sofka
Digital Death Survey – Question Asked (Mobile Browser)
Making plans for our online lives in advance can help ensure that the important sentimental photos and videos are not lost or made inaccessible upon death. This can help reduce the likelihood of friends and family members experiencing ‘secondary loss’ when content is no longer available”. – James Norris
Complete the Digital Death Survey 2024
We encourage everyone who uses the internet and connected devices to complete the Digital Death Survey 2024. This year’s survey has been designed to educate the participant and evoke thought throughout. We further encourage the sharing of this survey through both personal social media channels and through blog posts and social media channels associated with the organisations, charities and professional associations that participants are associated with.
If you would like to receive early access to the data and insights obtained from the Digital Death Survey please add your email address at the end of the survey. Data obtained will be made publicly available (open access) in 2025.
The Digital Death Survey 2024 can be viewed and completed by clicking here
Further information
The Digital Death Survey has been reviewed and approved by Siena College’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB ensures the protection of human participants in a research study. Any USA organisation that receives federal funding to conduct research with human participants is required to establish an IRB and to review and approve studies prior to collection of research data. The IRB confirmation document reference number is #IRB-FY25-22
About the authors
The Digital Legacy Association is the professional body raising awareness and improving areas relating to digital assets planning and digital legacy safeguarding. It is led by James Norris, an end of life technologist and thought leader in areas relating to end of life, digital legacy and technology.
Siena College is a learning community advancing the ideals of a liberal arts education.The Social Work department is led by Professor Carla Sofka, a published author and thought leader in areas relating to death, bereavement and the internet.
