djsundog, over 25 years ago I met my wife online, playing a word game in a gussied up irc channel.
almost three years ago the two of us moved across the country to live in a small mountain town with folk I met in the fediverse.
the best parts of my corner of the so-called "real world" are so good because I sourced them online.
I am just saying. the world I live in is not the world I was born into in very real, tangible, and lasting ways, and anyone who discounts online interaction as "not real" is the one at risk for losing touch with reality.