Rediscovering the Art of Dying: How a Forgotten Practice Is Making a Digital Comeback

In the age of rapid innovation and hyper-connectivity, we spend vast amounts of energy preparing for the next big life moment: new jobs, marriages, births, even retirement. Yet, the one event that touches every human life—death—remains shrouded in silence. But this is changing. A new wave of thinkers, practitioners, and technologists are leading a resurgence in how we confront and integrate death into our modern lives. In the most recent episode of The Digital Legacy Podcast, host Niki Weiss and grief expert Michelle Desmond, MBA, MS explore this movement and reexamine the ancient practice of dying well—and its rebirth in the digital age.

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In the age of rapid innovation and hyper-connectivity, we spend vast amounts of energy preparing for the next big life moment: new jobs, marriages, births, even retirement. Yet, the one event that touches every human life—death—remains shrouded in silence. But this is changing. A new wave of thinkers, practitioners, and technologists are leading a resurgence in how we confront and integrate death into our modern lives. In the most recent episode of The Digital Legacy Podcast, host Niki Weiss and grief expert Michelle Desmond, MBA, MS explore this movement and reexamine the ancient practice of dying well—and its rebirth in the digital age.

Death as a Human Experience, Not a Crisis

For centuries, death was an intimate part of life. People were born and died at home, surrounded by family. Mourning was visible, public, and structured. But in the last hundred years—especially in the Western world—death has become medicalized, institutionalized, and often invisible. We lost not just rituals, but a societal vocabulary for grief.

Today’s death-positive movement is a counterbalance to that erasure. It seeks to normalize conversations around dying, grief, and legacy. More people are choosing careers as end-of-life doulas, grief educators, and digital legacy consultants. They aren't chasing morbid curiosity—they're honoring our shared mortality.

And it’s not just for those in the throes of loss. It’s for all of us. By making space for the hard conversations now, we soften the landing later—for ourselves and our loved ones.

Grief Literacy: An Essential Life Skill

Grief remains uncomfortable and unfamiliar territory for many. We often struggle with what to say, how to act, or simply how to process our own sadness. But grief literacy—the ability to understand and navigate loss, both for ourselves and to support others—is now gaining recognition as a critical life skill.

Imagine if we included grief education alongside the rest of our typical education in schools. Understanding the emotional aspects of mourning, recognizing diverse cultural practices around death, and learning about anticipatory grief could become as routine and essential as studying algebra.

Growing public interest in thanatology—the academic study of death and dying—indicates this idea is becoming more than just theoretical. Universities are now offering specialized graduate programs in thanatology, preparing students with both scholarly knowledge and a compassionate, human-centered understanding of mortality.

Legacy in the Age of the Internet

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Today, we live multiple lives: our physical lives, our emotional and spiritual lives, and our digital ones. Most of us will leave behind thousands of digital footprints—photos, emails, posts, and files—that form a mosaic of who we were. But very few of us have a plan for what should happen to that legacy.

Digital legacy planning is not just about protecting assets or preventing identity theft. It’s about shaping the narrative you leave behind. It asks questions like: Do I want my social media to remain active after I’m gone? Should my loved ones have access to my cloud storage or email? What values, memories, or messages do I want to pass on in digital form?

These aren’t just technical decisions. They’re deeply personal ones. And they require as much forethought and care as any legal will or healthcare directive.

End-of-Life Doulas: Companionship for the Final Journey

Just as birth doulas assist in ushering new life into the world, death doulas help guide people through the end of life. Their role is non-medical but profoundly impactful. They offer emotional, spiritual, and logistical support to individuals and their families as death approaches.

In a society that tends to warehouse the dying—especially elders—into clinical or isolated settings, the work of death doulas restores humanity and presence to the dying process. They encourage open conversations, rituals, life reviews, and sometimes simply quiet companionship.

The resurgence of death doulas is part of a broader shift toward "death reclaiming"—bringing the sacred, communal, and personal elements back into a process that has become overly sterile and disconnected.

Why It Matters Now

We’re living longer but not necessarily dying better. Medical advances have prolonged life, but often at the cost of quality. The question "How do I want to live at the end of my life?" is one we rarely ask—until it's too late.

As society becomes more tech-savvy, so too must our approach to end-of-life planning. It's not just about filling out forms or checking legal boxes. It's about legacy, dignity, and ensuring that our final chapter reflects our values.

This means understanding the continuum between life, dying, and grieving. It means involving our families in our decisions, articulating our healthcare wishes clearly, and being willing to confront uncomfortable truths long before a crisis forces our hand.

A Call to Re-Engage

If there’s one message that echoes across this emerging movement, it's that death isn't just about endings. It’s about meaning, relationship, and continuity. Whether through documenting your digital legacy, having that hard conversation with your parents, or exploring your own grief story, each step taken is a radical act of love—for yourself and those you leave behind.

So what can you do today?

  • Start small. Pick one end-of-life document (a will, an advance directive) and complete it.

  • Have one conversation. Talk to a family member or friend about your wishes—or ask about theirs.

  • Curate your digital life. Decide what should happen to your accounts, files, and online presence.

  • Learn more. Read books like Being Mortal or Death and Other Stories, or follow digital legacy educators online.

  • Be present. Sit with someone grieving. Listen without trying to fix. Show up.

We’re not just rediscovering death—we’re rehumanizing it. And in doing so, we’re learning how to live more fully, more authentically, and more connected to what really matters.

Want to hear more about how professionals are leading the way in rethinking death and grief? Watch the full episode of the Digital Legacy Podcast with Niki and Michelle on YouTube. You won’t want to miss their heartfelt, groundbreaking conversation.




If something happened to you, would the people in your life know what to do? Don't leave your loved ones in the dark. Start developing your end-of-life and digital legacy plan. Download the My Final Playbook App on the App Store or Google Play or visit us online at Final-Playbook.Passion.io  to get started. With My Final Playbook, you'll be able to start and learn how to organize your legal, financial, physical, and digital assets today. Until then, keep your password safe and your playbook up to date. EndFragment

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One of the more popular innovations to come from this include pre-planning platforms that generate personalized letters explaining funeral arrangements and applications designed to help parents create legacy messages for their children, demonstrating how technology can be used to maintain meaningful connections even after death. Digital Legacies and Virtual Immortality The management of our digital legacy is crucial for end-of-life planning. Our digital footprints are vast and complex, encompassing everything from social media accounts and email to digital subscriptions and online banking. Our digital presence raises important questions about data management and privacy that extend after we have passed on. One of the most controversial developments in this space is the emergence of "grief bots" - artificial intelligence systems designed to simulate conversation with deceased individuals based on their digital communication patterns. 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Historical shifts in death care parallel similar changes in birth practices, with both experiencing waves of industrialization and medicalization, followed by movements toward a more empathetic outreach. Modern death care is becoming increasingly automated and personalized, with individuals seeking greater control over their end-of-life experiences. We have prepared a list of various planning tools and resources that help people articulate their wishes for both physical and digital assets. Essential considerations for modern end-of-life planning include: Advanced care directives for medical decisions Digital legacy planning for online accounts and assets Designation of legacy contacts for digital platforms Instructions for data privacy and management Preferences for memorial and remembrance practices Guidelines for executors regarding digital asset management Your Data Privacy Data privacy concerns extend beyond death, with current regulations offering limited guidance on posthumous data management. Common issues include unwanted social media reminders of deceased individuals, continued account suggestions, and questions about data ownership after death. The ability to effectively manage and potentially remove digital information after death remains a big and often overlooked question. The role of executors has expanded to include the management of digital assets, requiring not just emotional capacity but also technological competence. This new responsibility highlights the need for a careful selection of executors who can navigate both traditional and digital aspects of estate management. What will you do to protect your digital data when you pass? Planning for the Digital End As we navigate this new frontier of death in a digital age, proactive planning is important. With less than 40% of people engaging in advanced care planning, there's significant room for improvement in how we prepare for end-of-life matters. The ubiquity of smartphone technology, even among baby boomers with a 90% adoption rate, provides an accessible starting point for digital legacy planning. Try taking simple steps such as assigning legacy contacts on your devices and social media accounts. Consider creating a comprehensive digital inventory of your online presence and developing clear instructions for how you want your assets to be managed after death. Most importantly, engage in conversations with loved ones about your digital legacy preferences and ensure your wishes are documented in a way that provides clear guidance for survivors. By taking proactive steps to manage our digital legacies, we can help ensure our online presence aligns with our values and preferences, even after we're gone. If something happened to you, would the people in your life know what to do? Don't leave your loved ones in the dark. Start developing your end-of-life and digital legacy plan. Download My Final Playbook App on the App Store and Google Play to get started. Through this app, you'll be able to start and learn how to organize your legal, financial, physical, and digital assets today. Until then, keep your password safe and your playbook up to date.
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