I play(ed) Ragnarok Online, and some of my fondest memories is logging into one of my characters, going into a PVP map, and then just sit around and talk shit with friends I made there.
We would just sit and talk there, in the PVP map, and when someone who didn't get the memo stopped by to fight we'd collectively kick his ass out and then go back to talking. Some of them would get the memo and come back, then just sit down and join in and bam: New friend made.
Those were some good times.
My point is, maybe people have a higher barrier to entry for 'online friendship', now, as adults, but at least in this same game, people still reach our and form bonds despite there being little in-game support for that socialization. Many still recognize that it's the funny yellow text that touches the heart, and not the count of exp in stats.
I tried going back once, but without spending time to build connections with other players, it wasn't fun. Didn't quite realise that till I read your comment though.
I think probably far too much about how social media (or, in a broader sense, the mass adoption of the internet) has affected online games like this, and I was really happy to see your point here since this is a thought I've had a lot, but few people seem to understand what I mean when I try to bring it up! I vividly remember a time where people used to just talk in online games a lot more, whereas now most online games feel sorta dead (if they even have a chat option) -- and I suspect that's due to the fact that people are either A) playing with people they already know from real life and don't see any reason to communicate with anyone else, or B) only communicating with the community on platforms like Reddit, in an asynchronous, "flex"-based way. Imo, that shift is the major reason online games have essentially died out except in the form of competitive multiplayer with ephemeral lobbies.
And I've noticed that when I try to explain how things were to people who weren't online before the shift happened, they can't even picture what it was like, or why it was fun. It's so odd to me that that entire way of interaction has just... disappeared.