Then you aren’t thinking about it in context. One reason as to why people hung out in coffee shops talking all day has to do with climate. This was a phenomenon in particularly cold climates with inclement weather. So clearly, it was worse to be stuck outside in the cold and rain than inside in the warmth, surrounded by friends and a steaming cup of coffee.
This was my late teens and early 20s on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. A long, wet, cold, relentless "winter" can only be beaten by warm drinks and good friends. Actually, they don't even have to be great friends, haha. Just need to get out of the house and remind yourself there's more than rain and grey.
Hey, it was great while it lasted and I'm not embarrassed to call it sentimental. What else were you gonna do as an 18-25 year old in the afternoons in 1992, work? Ha! :-)