There is one thing that every human being on the planet has in common and that is the fact we will all die. Yet, very few of us prepare for it which is causing huge problems for those who survive us and these problems are only worsening in this new digital age.  

What’s odd though is that as a species we are fascinated with death. It makes action movies more thrilling and it makes us hand over cash to watch daredevils jump bikes across buildings. Imagine how much less exciting Game of Thrones would have been without the chance your favourite character could get bumped off at any moment. Imagine how boring PacMan would be without being pursued by ghosts that want to kill you. 

Yes we love death but only at a distance, as we human beings are absolutely rubbish at considering our own, personal expiration date. 

In fact we’ll do everything we can to ignore the reaper because death is something that only happens to other people. And it’s not just me saying this. A brand new study due to be published next month claims to have proven that our brains genuinely think this way and actively shield us from this universal truth that one day our physical bodies will expire. 

So what’s the big problem with ignoring your own mortality? Actually there are quite a few problems. For example, most of us haven’t set aside enough cash to pay for our funeral which means on average our loved ones end up having to scrape together £3,000 to cover the deficit. £3k! And don’t get me started on the fact that over half of UK adults don’t have a will... #CourtroomBrawl

The biggest issue for me though is all about your digital footprint. If you die, what happens to all those social media accounts that are filled up with a lifetime of your information? And what if you have crypto currency? Can you pass your account access codes to your loved ones in your will? Who does your data belong to if you die? And who is going to delete your browser history? 

This is the stuff I’m really fascinated by and at TEDxBristol 2019 on November 17 I’m going to be exploring this brand new phenomenon I call digital death and why it’s something none of us can ignore. 

I hope to see you there!