I think you're on point. I'd also add that beyond shared activities or goals, there's mutual need as a basis for relationships. My grandparents were born peasa

I think you're on point. I'd also add that beyond shared activities or goals, there's mutual need as a basis for relationships. My grandparents were born peasant-farmers (Ireland, the 20s). They had very strong social bonds. Yes, they had institutions like church and such. But, they also just needed favours from eachother all the time. Every day a neighbor would stop by to help with something. Move sheep, fix fences, diagnose crop problems, watch kids, loan tools. Interesting point about "*do you want to be friends" approaches. The thing is, we do exactly this for dating. It's just as awkward, we just have a social context for it. These days, we have apps for it.