My controversial take on this is that we are in the mid-curve of this tech, i.e., smartphones/social media are not quite there to replace IRL experiences and are even further off from real community...BUT instead of going back, we need to move forward to the right side of the curve where full VR / network states can solve a lot of these problems.

I'm very bullish on IRL experiences. Community building is more complex, with various ripple effects to consider, but realistically we are heading in that direction whether we like it or not. I find it more compelling to explore how we can reclaim and enhance these lost aspects in our modern world rather than going on "back in my day" nostalgia trips.