By Life Quotes, Inc. Staff

According to the business media news source Fast Company, 1.78 million of Facebook’s 500 million active users worldwide – 480,000 of whom are American – may die this year.

Those figures were calculated by comparing data for the number of Facebook users to statistics from the Center for Disease Control, showing the number of deaths per year. However, the site expects this figure to grow as more members of the population start using Facebook, and the social media site’s usership reaches above 600 million.

Some are concerned with the effect that the profiles of deceased users can have on obtaining accurate usership counts for active members, who are those who have logged in at least once within a 30 day period.

Facebook has implemented new ways of dealing with deceased users, such as “memorializing” their profiles. In this case, the site will keep a user’s profile up, but may restrict it to being viewed only by family members and close friends and it will not count toward usership. Some family members request to have the profiles of their deceased relatives taken off of the website.

Deciding whether or not to maintain a Facebook page may be the least of worries for relatives of a recently deceased person. However, being prepared by having a life insurance policy, will and end-of-life instructions can help ease the burden on their family.