I mean the "secret club for nerds" was not great either but at least it wasn't concentrating social power in the hands of the already socially skilled and powerful.
But, that's what's going on now. Your shy socially awkward kid may at best find some kindred souls online, but at worst?
A chatbot may fill their head with nonsense or they will get preyed on by internet creeps.
And the later was already happening when I was young.
A school should at least set one good example.