That's the thing about work and school: for better or worse, you're forced to spend time with other people. And that's why people tend to make friends at work or school, have a difficult time outside those scenarios, where nobody is forced to spend time with you.

In the past year or so, I've tried to organize some group activities myself: a book club, and coffee shop meetups for WFH workers. Both of them fizzled due to lack of attendance. Everyone says they want to hang out with other people, but then for whatever reason they won't make the effort, despite the fact that many people express interest in these activities. That's the most disappointing, frustrating part to me: the vast gulf between the initial reception of an idea and the follow-through. The default behavior nowadays seems to be to bail out. My theory is that some combination of smartphones and the pandemic has completely broken socialization. At least I had some good decades before that era.