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My mom has cancer. She loves to keep in touch on social media.

• Theodores 13y ago
  Very, very good point. A lady I knew only through playing a game (which is an app of sorts) put a lot of effort into said game and became the lynchpin of the community. She passed on due to the c-word that we don't speak of. We were collectively devastated, some of my other online friends stopped playing for a week or two and things were not the same afterwards. Her daughter had the good sense to log on to the phone and tell us what had happened, we were kept from the truth until then. I was deeply shocked by the turn of events, much like how, on the internet 'nobody knows you are a dog', nobody knows you are dying of c-word on some hospital ward. But we didn't need to know that, in-game conversation was light hearted banter, no special treatment, which was good. From that hospital ward that lady had a good fifty to a hundred 'in game' friends all around the world, we were there, outside of visiting hours, 24/7. I think I was more shocked and with more grief layers to go through than I have experienced when some of my relatives have passed on. You would wonder how you could be so upset about losing someone that you only spent six months of your life compulsively playing an online game with. But it can happen. So, +1 to your original point. Games and apps or fancy shopping websites might seem trivial when there are so many problems in the world, however, through such things community can exist. People in those communities treat others as normal, they stay on topic and people that are seriously ill really appreciate it. I am at a loss for meaningful kind words for your mom. 'I hope she gets...' - after that I am stuck. However, if she doesn't play online games, get her to do so, and to make friends with a community of people that don't care about how ill she is.