Introducing the Special Issue Digital Death: Transforming Rituals, History, and the Afterlife.

This document introduces a special issue on digital death, which explores the current state and future directions of research in this field. The special issue includes articles from various disciplinary backgrounds, such as history, philosophy, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, and media and communication studies. The articles cover topics like grief and mourning rituals, digital immortality, and the meaning of death in society. The document emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of studying digital death and the influence of disciplines like philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and media and communication studies. It concludes by discussing current trends and future challenges in the field. The text also introduces two significant research strands: digital and/or online mourning, and digital afterlife/immortality. The first strand focuses on personalized and heterogeneous digital rituals and mourning practices conducted online. The second strand examines post-mortal communication and the use of AI-driven technologies to maintain relationships with the deceased. The text highlights the need for culturally nuanced and context-sensitive research, as well as the consideration of the materiality and sustainability of digital technologies. It introduces several articles that delve deeper into these topics, including discussions on the afterlife of data, grief universalism, the sociological study of digital death, and the sociocultural implications of digital death in specific contexts. The afterword provides a reflection on the current state of research in digital death and suggests future avenues for exploration. [Extracted from the article]