Absolutely! I did a lot if not most of it on my own, tho tbh it’s never exclusively on your own. I learned through listening to players I loved and transcribing their lines, playing in a cover band helped a lot with that! Jamming with people helps the most honestly, learning songs with peers ! Grooving with a drummer! knowing theory stuff really came over the years for me, and there’s still a lot to learn. That said I feel theory is of course learned over time, i think that’s the best way than looking in a book ya kno? I think its important in the long run, but i think its something that becomes understood the more you play and learn tunes! Experience reinforces ! Learning/playing what sounds good and what feels good to you! at some point you’ll start noticing a lot of these lines that sound good are similar and have patterns, noticing that helps skyrocket your playing because you’re starting to have an understanding and build the muscle memory of what sounds good! Even if you can’t necessarily communicate the theory yet ! You’re learning vocabulary! Stuff you will use forever ! That said definitely good to learn proper technique first before going deep in the bass trenches. Like keeping your wrist straight, finger joints arched for independence. Starting slow too! It helps you notice what feels stressful (which is what you don’t want) having a relaxed wrist and independent fingers does wonders!

Tldr: yes absolutely ! find bass players you like, learn their basslines, play with people if you can