I agree that the hanging out at home with friends thing is probably over represented in sitcoms for plot purposes. That said the entire culture in Europe histor

I agree that the hanging out at home with friends thing is probably over represented in sitcoms for plot purposes. That said the entire culture in Europe historically centred around working then going to the village or town pub/tavern/restaurant afterwards for drinks, along with church on Sundays. And this still is life in a lot of places. In addition, the majority of people would probably stay where they grew up rather than moving away for study and work unless forced by war or famine. And going back even further we lived in close knit hunter gatherer tribes. Only seeing your friends twice a year is definitely not normal human behaviour when viewed historically.