I think it's arguable that opportunities to build substantiative constructive relationships of any kind has been on a sharp decline over the past several decade

I think it's arguable that opportunities to build substantiative constructive relationships of any kind has been on a sharp decline over the past several decades. For most of us, the bulk of connections we make are those made by way of circumstance — the people we meet in class, at the workplace, etc. While school connections have a decent chance of becoming more deep and real, it's much more unlikely for those at the workplace, particularly as job workloads have increased (meaning less downtime during work hours to talk) and it becoming more common for people to change jobs many times during their lives (not as much point in getting to know coworkers deeply when you'll probably be somewhere else in a couple of years). Some have been able to make connections outside of work through group hobbies, but this is difficult to manage for the many who find themselves with little free time and/or too exhausted in the little free time they have to want to go out and do these things. Really, what the pandemic has done more than anything has revealed how fleeting and insignificant most of our connections are.