Imagine scrolling through Facebook one morning and spotting a status update from an old friend stating she had passed away the night before.

Then imagine clicking through and getting a message from beyond the grave: famous last words about their regrets, victories and defeats. Or maybe a final paean to an old flame?

Though it sounds morbid, experts say a growing number of Internet users are confronting their own mortality, both online and off.

"I've heard it's becoming more and more common to leave social media account passwords in wills," says Samantha Collier, who operates a social media consultancy business.

"Some people want to make sure their accounts don't get hacked or have personal information stolen, and others want to leave pictures and/or music to their family."

Collier, who specializes in legal matters, was recently asked to "immortalize" a Facebook account for a client whose family member suddenly passed away -- which freezes the profile but allows friends to leave messages and comments in memorium.

"When someone's profile is immortalized, it can't be logged into and many personal details are kept private," says Collier. "They no longer show up in your 'suggested friends' for obvious reasons. Their profiles are only viewable to their current friends, too."

But users can go a step further, too, with Facebook applications like If I Die.

In basic terms, the app allows Facebook users to record or write a final message -- via webcam or through text -- and assign three administrators.

Once the person dies, those three administrators can then publicly post the pre-recorded death message to the profile.

"I personally think it is a good idea, since only those who truly see value in the service, will choose to use it. The more options and flexibility for individuals, the better," says Jeff Quipp, who runs an Internet marketing business.

According to some estimates, there are as many as 1.78 million dead users on Facebook. Other estimates say that up to three Facebook users die each minute.

"When a family is grieving, shutting down a loved one's social networks is probably the last thing they'd want to do," Quipp said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Facebook a leader for dealing with death

He added that while Facebook is probably the most user-friendly for dealing with deaths, other sites have a lot of work to do.

Career-focused site LinkedIn, for example, only deletes a page if the proper information is provided, Quipp says.

"I'd like to see LinkedIn also offer a permanent memorial," he suggests. "Imagine the deceased's descendants being able to see his/her entire professional life. I for one would love to see the professional lives of my predecessors."

Meanwhile, Yahoo properties -- such as Flickr -- can sometimes require family to get a court order to gain access.

That's why Quipp agrees that people should prepare for the worst and ensure that passwords and clear instructions are left behind.

"Absolutely it should be spelled out in wills, as it will save the survivors time, energy, and frustration, and inclusion in a will gives the deceased the opportunity to make his/her wishes known," he says.

Quipp points to the example of U.S. marine Justin Ellsworth, who was killed in the Iraq War in 2004. While his family wanted to create a memorial with the emails he had sent, email provider Yahoo wouldn't release his password and the family was forced to go to court to gain access.

Finally, the family was handed a CD of the emails after a U.S. court ruled in their favour.

"Currently we include directions for all other assets, so our digital assets should now also become a standard consideration within our wills," says Quipp. "After all, it should be handled by someone we trust."