To (mis) quote TheMinimalists [1] they frequently mention that most relationships are born out of proximity and/or convenience. Facebook, with (many times) meaningless word exchange (I can't call these discussions) trick us into thinking them as friendships. This is the convenience part, combined with Facebook nomenclature ("Friends") also helps to that direction. I quit FB approx 2 years ago and Instagram 1 year ago. I don't miss any of the 250 'friends'.
For the 5 people I care to keep in touch frequently, I have installed Signal on my smartphone and my PC and we chat very frequently (when we don't meet)
-having grown up (and going to first 6 grades of school) in a small village with very tight community.
-going thru 5 years of boarding school with very strong alumni traditions (kind of sect actually)
-6 years of going to college and living on campus of a large University
-living in a foreign country with very tight immigrant community of 'my country people' for the past 8 years
I can say that yes, unfortunately and surprisingly, friendships and relationships are born out of and maintained mostly thanks to proximity and necessity.
For the 5 people I care to keep in touch frequently, I have installed Signal on my smartphone and my PC and we chat very frequently (when we don't meet)
[1]: https://www.theminimalists.com/values/