[frossie]

it's great for making lots of people think that lots of people care about them

followed by

What's not to like?

Dude, I think you answered your own question: superficial relationships masquerading as genuine ones - you know, that does bother some people.

[derefr]

But these are superficial relationships replacing non-relationships, not replacing genuine ones.

[frossie]

Again, not everybody thinks the same. It is possible to prefer a non-relationship to a superficial relationship. Some people value authenticity for its own sake.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to change their mind, I just want to explain why the appeal of the social media is not universal (not that it has to be of course). For example there are some people I would call "intentional introverts" who quite genuinely would prefer not to have a happy birthday greeting from someone they are not close to. Others obviously are delighted by the same thing. It takes all kinds to make the world, etc etc.