the friends we didn't make along the way

It's common in internet parlance to suggest that, regarding something that was difficult or obtuse, the real benefit was "the friends we made along the way." That the connections supplanted the work and trials of whatever else came with them. Given, however, the harsh reality of modern society, such that loneliness is now, on a per capita basis, higher than it has ever been in recorded history, and that it strikes all age, income, racial, and religious groups, is both more deadly than obesity and smoking, and is increasing on a year-to-year basis seemingly without end, one might be inclined to say that, instead, the real journey was the friends we didn't make along the way.