A bunch of my college/highschool friends will still hop on the ps4 a couple nights each week.
I live 100 kms away from most of them, however we can still catch up and have fun playing games.
Its definitely not the same as real life interactions, but it allows me to interact with people that I normally wouldn't see without visiting them.
I moved to a city where I'm pretty much alone so I could go to college. My favorite time of the day is when I play Counter-Strike with my old buddies at night. Not so much because of the game but just because I get to voice chat and have a good laugh for a while.
I think social (cooperative) gaming might be an exception to this. I'm not about to argue that it's _better_ than real-life social interaction, but hanging out and communicating with the same individuals every evening while working on shared goals as your avatars inhabit the screen can combat loneliness for many individuals without (and with!) alternatives[0].
These interactions can even lead to real-life communities and relationships. So again, not a perfect substitute, but certainly not as much a detractor as sitcoms or (I would argue) social media.
[0] https://www.bbc.com/news/disability-47064773