Stayinme is an Italian social network created to keep alive the memory of those who are no longer with us, thanks to the possibility of posting photos and thoughts. There is also a section dedicated to pets that have passed away, famous personalities, and collective disasters.
From the idea of journalists Isa Grassano and Lucrezia Argentiero, there was born Stayinme (www.stayinme.com), a social network perhaps peculiar and currently unique in Italy.
The premise is that sharing one’s feelings about the loss of a loved one can help to process grief; since sociality nowadays is increasingly taking place online, Stayinme.com was created precisely in the spirit of a social network. Sometimes people open up more to those who are not so close than to their own family members, for reasons of self-protection or a desire not to burden their loved ones with their own pain. Online interaction with others who have experienced similar situations could help in this regard.
Stayinme.com is not only a virtual meeting place but also a memory: thanks to this space, one can continue to nurture a dedication of affection to those who are no longer here, creating a space made up of photos, videos, music, phrases, poems, and everything one wishes to tell – to themselves and to visitors – about the person who is no longer present. One can also invite relatives and friends to register precisely to participate in this virtual commemoration.
Since often pets also become actual members of the family and, as such, leave sorrow upon their passing, a special section has been created on Stayinme.com.
Other areas of the site are based on collective events: for example, the group “those who die for the homeland” has already been opened; there are also groups to talk about world tragedies or to remember public and famous figures who have passed away.
Isa Grassano and Lucrezia Argentiero, the founders, explain the Stayinme.com project and what led them to create this social network: “Stayinme.com is definitely a social network with a strong emotional impact. The subject is not one of the most pleasant, we know, but we don’t want to do anything macabre or sad: death, whether we like it or not, is an integral part of our lives, and even if we fear it, that does not mean we should ‘avoid it’ and refuse to talk about it, because in doing so we end up denying the possibility of staying in contact with those who have ‘passed through that door.’ Stayinme talks about death but still wants to be a hymn to the life that never dies. And who knows, perhaps with this virtual exchange, the traumatic experience of losing someone you are attached to can turn out to be a personal enrichment and a tool to face life with more drive, fewer regrets, and without wasting a single moment.”
The Stayinme logo evokes the concept of infinity because essentially it is to infinity that we would like to extend the memory of loved ones who are no longer with us. Leaving an online trace seems to be a contemporary 2.0 way to also talk about a topic as unpleasant as death.
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