The problem imo is simply that there is no need for "rallying points" anymore. Before cellphones, I had to go hang out at the coffee shop if I wanted to catch

The problem imo is simply that there is no need for "rallying points" anymore. Before cellphones, I had to go hang out at the coffee shop if I wanted to catch my friends in person so we could all go do something. Before the internet, I had to go to the coffee shop and read event flyers off of the community board if I wanted to find out what was happening around town. The coffee shop became a hub of social activity in and of itself partly out of necessity, and it was awesome. I had probably a hundred friends back then and they were all just people who hung out at the coffee shop. Nowadays everyone can just veg out in their pod until their friends call them on-demand. The result is missing out on all the opportunities to make friends by accident.