Postmortal Sociality in the Digital and Thing Age: Between The Digitization of Death and the Construction of Immortality

Abstract

This article presents a sociological analysis of the phenomena of digital death and digital immortality as interrelated yet conceptually distinct dimensions of postmortem sociality in the context of digitalization. It has been demonstrated that digital death does not signify the end of an individual’s social existence, but rather their transformation into a different mode of presence, mediated by digital traces, algorithmic mechanisms, and platform infrastructures. In contrast, digital immortality is viewed as a normative-discursive construct regarding the possibility of continuing individual existence in the digital environment. Within the scope of this study, the concepts of «digital death» «digital immortality» and «postmortem sociality» are clarified, and the rationale for their analytical distinction is substantiated. The concept of the «digital liminality» is proposed as a tool for describing the intermediate state between biological death and an individual’s social presence in a networked environment. It is shown that this state is characterized by a disconnect between the loss of agency and the preservation of operational presence in digital interactions. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of practices of memory and mourning in a mediatized culture, where digital platforms serve not only as tools for preservation but also as active agents in the reconfiguration of memory. The role of technosocial mechanisms in maintaining posthumous presence is analyzed, and the ethical, legal, and social challenges associated with the spread of digital immortality practices are outlined. The author concludes that postmortem sociality in the digital age is the result of the interaction between human practices, algorithmic processes, and institutional control, which necessitates a rethinking of the boundaries between life and death in contemporary society.