"This book is unique in scope and depth. It takes us into the now mature virtual social world of Second Life focusing on questions of death, mourning, memorialisation, nostalgia, and forms of digital kinship. The authors make a convincing argument for engaged living: the space is populated by people who have grown 'digital flesh' made of memories, sentimental objects and long-term relationships. In the hyped beginning, I too lived in Second Life - this book seriously makes me want to give it a second chance!" (Dr. Stine Gotved, The IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark) "What do 'living' and 'dying' mean in virtual worlds such as Second Life? This book provides a thoughtful and provocative response to this question, which is, at heart, a profound philosophical issue. Gibson and Carden skilfully examine the expression and experience of intimacy, emotion, embodiment, memory, identity and social relationships in digital environments." (Professor Deborah Lupton, University of Canberra, Australia and author of Digital Sociology (2015) and The Quantified Self (2016).
Living and Dying in a Virtual World : Digital Kinships, Nostalgia, and Mourning in Second Life