Keeping lost loved ones alive through digital memorials
“When I get to the cemetery, it feels like I can sit there with my tablet and talk to him,” Anna Zaltron says.
Anna is living what many parents would consider an inconsolable nightmare — the loss of a daughter or son.
Her 18-year-old son Anthony Bruno died in a motorcycle accident in early 2019 in Adelaide.
As a regular visitor to Enfield Memorial Park in the city’s north, Anna was invited as the first South Australian to install a “digital memorial plaque” on Anthony’s tombstone.
“It’s a way of keeping him alive, I guess, because I find that once people are buried and laid to rest, eventually they do get forgotten, and as a mum, I will not forget and hope that other people won’t either,” she says.
The plaque includes a Bluetooth beacon that allows cemetery visitors who have downloaded an app to view videos, images, stories and visitor testimonials to her eldest son.
Friends and families were invited to contribute their own memories about Anthony to the app.
“I log in and leave messages to Anthony when I get there, that I’m sitting here and although I can’t see you, I’m sure that you can hear me somewhere,” Anna says.
More on the story: https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/keeping-lost-loved-ones-alive-through-digital-technology/100073924
