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Exploring the Experiences of People Who Inherited Digital Assets from Deceased Users: A Search for Better Computing Solutions

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Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2023 (INTERACT 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14144))

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Abstract

Users produce a significant amount of data in different internet spaces and, after their death, these data constitute part of their digital legacy, which can be managed by third parties. However, what are the perceptions of heirs and legacy managers when interacting with such systems? The aim of this research was to explore the experience of family members and others who inherited digital legacies from loved ones in systems that enable post-mortem digital legacy management. It also sought to understand how heirs interacted with these digital artifacts. To this end, the study was divided into two parts. Initially, a Systematic Literature Review was carried out in search of studies from 2015 to 2022 that addressed such issues. Next, we conducted an in-depth qualitative study with online interviews with people who had inherited digital assets and/or had turned a deceased person’s profile into a digital memorial on Facebook. Based on our findings, we discuss how to enhance and improve aspects that affect interaction involving digital legacy.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the volunteers of the study for their time and insights. This research was partially funded by the Research Support Foundation of the State of Mato Grosso—Fapema and by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—CNPq: Cristiano thanks to CNPq (grant #310665/20220–1). Simone Barbosa thanks CNPq (grant #313049/2021–1) and CAPES (Finance Code 001). Vinicius thanks to CNPq (grant #302671/2021–8).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Computação, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, Brasil

    Maria Fernanda Lira & Cristiano Maciel

  2. Instituto de Educação, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, Brasil

    Cristiano Maciel & Daniele Trevisan

  3. Instituto de Linguagens, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, Brasil

    Vinicius Carvalho Pereira

  4. Departamento de Informática, Pontifícia Universidade Católica Do Rio de Janeiro, Gávea, RJ, Brasil

    Simone Barbosa

  5. Laboratório de Ambientes Virtuais Interativos, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, Brasil

    Flavia Beppu

Authors
  1. Maria Fernanda Lira
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  2. Cristiano Maciel
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  3. Daniele Trevisan
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  4. Vinicius Carvalho Pereira
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  5. Simone Barbosa
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  6. Flavia Beppu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Fernanda Lira .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of West London, London, UK

    José Abdelnour Nocera

  2. Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Marta Kristín Lárusdóttir

  3. University of York, York, UK

    Helen Petrie

  4. University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Antonio Piccinno

  5. Université Côte d’Azur, Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France

    Marco Winckler

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Lira, M.F., Maciel, C., Trevisan, D., Pereira, V.C., Barbosa, S., Beppu, F. (2023). Exploring the Experiences of People Who Inherited Digital Assets from Deceased Users: A Search for Better Computing Solutions. In: Abdelnour Nocera, J., Kristín Lárusdóttir, M., Petrie, H., Piccinno, A., Winckler, M. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2023. INTERACT 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14144. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42286-7_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42286-7_28

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-42285-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-42286-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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