Communication over the internet just isn't the same as in person. It's harder to pick up on subtle social and emotional cues, and generally communication has to be a lot more intentional and explicit.

Plus there's no replacement for the ancient human social tradition of eating a meal with someone after a long day of work.

It depends on if it's a live chat, audio chat, video chat, or VR chat. Not all modes require the same level of explicitness.

It's true that effective text communication in async forms is a skill, but that is a competency that is very important even when not on lockdown.