Virtual afterlife: dark tourism in the hereafter.

Ironside, Rachael; Leith, Craig

Abstract

"…you are now travelling to the Virtual Afterlife…". It is Sunday afternoon in the year 2040. Charlotte reaches for her virtual headset and waits to connect with her friend, Becca. Today they have chosen to connect virtually in a small café in the centre of New York, a special place they found sanctuary from the rain ten years previous. Since her friend passed away four years ago, they have made a habit of catching up regularly. In this chapter, we adopt a futurology perspective to explore the Virtual Afterlife, connecting the living with virtual souls in a conversational AI environment. Foregrounded in the evolution of a 'spiritual-quest culture' (Eaton, 2015), big data and thanatological perspectives (Stone & Sharpley, 2008; Stone, 2012), we use three scenarios to conceptualise the opportunities (psychotherapeutically; spiritually; commemoration) and challenges (morally; commodification) of the Virtual Afterlife as a form of futuristic dark tourism.

Citation

IRONSIDE, R. and LEITH, C. 2024. Virtual afterlife: dark tourism in the hereafter. In Stone, P.R. and Wright, D.W.M. (eds.). The future of dark tourism: enlightening new horizons. The future of tourism, 8. Bristol: Channel View Publications Ltd [online], Chapter 2, 27-37. Available from: https://www.channelviewpublications.com/page/detail/?k=9781845418984

• Online Publication Date: Aug 23, 2024
• Publication Date: Sep 10, 2024
• Deposit Date: May 1, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 4, 2024
• Publisher: Channel View Publications Ltd
• Pages: 27-37
• Series Title: The future of tourism
• Series Number: 8
• Book Title: The future of dark tourism: enlightening new horizons
• Chapter Number: Chapter 2
• ISBN: 9781845418984; 9781845418977
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2327920
• Publisher URL: https://www.channelviewpublications.com/page/detail/?k=9781845418984