Memento mori: Remember your mortality

Memento Mori – a Latin phrase meaning “Remember your mortality”. Memento Mori art is that which is designed to remind us of our mortality and the fragility of human life.

Life brings with it many uncertainties. That we all die, however, is not negotiable. As technology creeps into more aspects of our personal lives, we must begin to consider what death means for the interactive technologies that we design and build. For example, have you ever considered what should happen to all your saved emails after you die? Whether you are designing banking systems, attempting to grow an online community, or building an online store for a retailer, there is no escaping human mortality. In this talk, I ask the audience to consider death and its impact on such interactive technologies.

Case studies from recent research relating to death, bereavement and memorialisation with respect to interactive technologies will be presented. The take-home message is that designers must consider the mortality of their users. Privacy issues can rear their ugly head upon death so it is better to be proactive rather than reactive. Additionally, digital content of the deceased can take on special meaning by the bereaved, so there are opportunities to contribute positively for those affected by the loss of a loved one when you are responsible for storing personal digital content.

The following will be discussed:

  • Why is considering death important?
  • What is happening in this space, particularly online?
  • How should design account for this?
  • What can interaction designers do?

The audience will also be asked to contribute examples and perspectives from their own experiences:

  • Have you any case studies relating to the mortality of your users? What happened?
  • Do you have policies surrounding what should happen when a user passes on?
  • What about privacy? What if you were approached by a family member to get access to some personal content that the deceased created in life? Should family members have access to such content?

This project is funded by the The Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society (IBES).

Presentation audio

Presentation

Sketchnote

Joji Mori: Remember Your Mortality

Photos

Joji Mori - UX Australia 2012, Day 1 _DSC0383