As a retiree like me, you talk to your friends in the bar about how capitalism is coming to an end and that the criminals in suits and Rolex had to be in jail and not in the parliament, about heavy metal, violent video games and who’s paying for the next round of beers. You don’t give a fuck about “friends” on social networks.
Respectfully, I don’t think those we interact with online are a replacement for people we see in real life. It can be easier to find more people who are like minded and to learn from each other. In this way we can expand our circle.
Nothing against this, there are also nice and friendly people in the network, but friendship is another thing and a lot of people confuse this, thinking that 5.631 users in a social network are his friends, because the the counter in the profile say it.
Honestly, I’ve never witnessed anybody really getting those two concepts mixed up, but countless times heard ramblings about people who supposedly do.
