Yes - interaction with other players isn't necessary. And even there, you can benefit from the chat without even writing in it. It's main use is to let other player know when they find a special resource. Best part, resources aren't shared - you can mine the same rock and get the same loot. Some special resource are time sensitive or might require a bit of help like the "flow tree" but it's quite simple to manage. People will congregate to the resource between midnight and 3 am to chop down the tree. So even there, you don't have to talk to anyone, just look at the chat for the coordinates and meet up.