People in modern times have lives online as well as offline. Social media presence often outlasts us. I doubt a lot of surviving families give any thought in their grieving on how to handle the online life of the deceased. But sometimes it just gets creepy.

A cousin of mine recently passed away. Without giving too many details, let me say that he suffered from a degenerative disease, and we knew he was in the final stages. It was not sudden, or a surprise. He, like many of us, was on Facebook. He played Candy Crush. I know, because until he got too ill to play, we used to send each other lives. His account has not been shut down or removed from Candy Crush. Every once in a while, Candy Crush asks me if I’d like to give my cousin a life.

Man, do I wish I could.