To me that has always been the promise of the internet: to connect with people on topics I'm passionate about as such a thing is highly constrained in the real

To me that has always been the promise of the internet: to connect with people on topics I'm passionate about as such a thing is highly constrained in the real world. It's a brand new capability, a super power. The opposite is true for generic chitchat online. Instead of more powerful, it is less powerful compared to the real world equivalent. You don't gain anything.