Well, This Is An Incredibly Morbid Facebook Stat

What should be done about a Facebook profile created for someone who's since passed away is a question that users have been asking for years. Should it be taken down or left up to act as a digital gravestone, where loved ones can leave memories and well wishes? Well, unless scientists figure out how to give us eternal life, the number of profiles left in that limbo is going to go up dramatically in the next century. By 2098, there will be more Facebook profiles for dead people than live ones, according to Hachem Sadikki, who is pursuing his PhD in statistics at the University of Massachusetts. Fusion, which commissioned the projection, says the estimated date isn't a sure thing — there are still plenty of variables that could see the scales tip sooner or later than 2098. The future of Facebook's growth is a major example of a factor that can be predicted, but not known for certain (as is the existence of Facebook itself in 100 years time). When that date finally does come, it will be interesting to consider what a social media platform dominated by the dead will look like. Will Facebook start sending morbidly cheery alerts, reminding us to pay our respects to a loved one's wall on the anniversary of their death (in Harry Potter words, our Deathday)? Would people begin to argue that flowers left at a grave site die, but flower GIFs live forever? Just a little something to think about as you decide whether the post you're reading merits a