Nobody should take a Reddit thread as some kind of proof of a broad generalization. But some empirical data is given in the article, for example, Percentage of 12th graders going out with friends two or more times a week: https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!lQMo!,f_auto,q_auto:...

I think the Reddit thread is just a reflection of the reality rather than an argument for accepting that reality.

You can attempt to discount the Reddit thread, but the submitted article wasn't even based on that.