Digital Memorialization in Death-Ridden Societies: How HCI Could Contribute to Death Rituals in Taiwan and Japan
Year
2019
Abstract
Both Taiwan and Japan are entering an area of hyper aged and death-ridden society. The death rituals in both countries are rapidly changing due to urbanization and secularization, although both cultures have long histories and traditions for funeral and memorialization. Furthermore, some digital technologies have already been adopted in both countries, providing alternative changes for some occasions. This paper principally reports contemporary funeral and memorialization practices in Taipei and Tokyo by introducing insights from our fieldworks and interviews in both cities. These also include examples of digital technology adoption. Comprehensively understanding phenomena being caused by local faiths and traditions, we will discuss how ICT/HCI designers could contribute to the realm of local memorializations and more generally around the world, and what kind of design opportunities for the future death rituals they could be involved in.
