Social media is the social interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

According to theE-marketer report in 2013, the number of people around the world that used social networks increased from 1.47 billion in 2012 to 1.73 billion in 2013 and by 2017, the global social audience will be 2.55 billion.

Social media has become so big that one in four people belong to at least one social network such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or Twitter. Social media platforms are connecting us like never before enabling us to stay in touch with family, friends and colleagues from around the world. Pictures, updates, conversations and tagged images from your network form nothing short of a vast memory bank for you and those around you.  Allowing you to document and life experiences and much more, or your family and friends decide to memorialise your account, those archives can be helpful.

These platforms are constantly evolving, providing value in a variety of ways to each and every one of us. It is vital though that you remember and treat your online presence as an asset, your asset.

Every time we use the internet, we create what is known as a digital footprint. This footprint, over the years becomes huge and important. It contains traces from our personal, professional and financial lives. As a result, our digital footprint becomes valuable – not only for us but for people around us as well. That is why it is important to think about – what will happen to this digital footprint when we pass away? How can we protect or transfer our digital legacy to right beneficiaries?

We collect various items as we grow at different stages of our lives.  It could a collection of stories, an archive of classic movies or a stack of letters but with the growing age of technology everything is different now. These used to be our physical assets but now it’s all digital.  As a result we have to make sure our digital assets are all protected in case something happens.

Social media has now become so big that even The Law society is now urging people to leave clear instructions about what should happen to their social media, computer games and other online accounts after their death.

Recently, Kings Court Trust highlighted the need for companies like Planned Departure. Planned Departure is an electronic vault which keeps all your digital assets such as social media accounts, emails and digital copies of other documents safe and secure. It also makes it possible for users to specify right beneficiaries for everything and releases information to right people at the right time. Have a look at this one minute video to understand how Planned Departure solves this important problem.

So to summarise, social media has become integral part of our digital life. Our social media accounts can be precious for our friends and family after we pass away. At the same time, if not planned properly, these accounts can be lost, locked or abused by identity thieves. So it is important for you to plan properly and protect these accounts by creating a social media will.

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