Why are so many lonely people blaming the internet for their loneliness?

It seems like a lot of lonely people blame the internet for the fact that they have few friends, thinking that social media is the reason for their loneliness. But do they realize that plenty of people were lonely before the internet even existed? <br><br><br><br>Do they not realize that social media is not a replacement for real life friends, and that it's up to us to take the initiative to go out to meet people? I personally realize that social media has it's flaws, but I personally am not going to hold it responsible for my loneliness.