I agree that it's not the same, but I'll take online over not at all every time.
My closest friends live in different cities. Online contact allows me to maintain the friendship enough to arrange getting together physically.
Case Study 1: this summer, we're going away with my old uni friend and his family. The ongoing connection and practical arrangements all happen online.
Case Study 2: we do a video call with another couple of friends at least once a month. Through this, we also arrange visits usually twice a year. Without the internet, we probably would have drifted apart.
I'm not saying it's all rosey, but we must acknowledge the benefits, and also the other difficulties of the modern world. Falling into "all fields round 'ere" thinking is blinkered and helps nobody.
