It certainly is quite damaging because that connection isn't an accurate representation of a real-world connection. When you see someone in the real world you see them sneeze, you see them cry, you see their successes and their failures. When you are 'friends' with someone on social media you see a carefully curated window into a reality that doesn't exist. This gives young people unrealistic expectations for themselves and others that I would certainly call damaging. It takes all the healthy parts of human interaction, processes them , and spits out a refined version coated in advertisements.

It's not new (we've been doing that to young people since media was invented) but the level of pervasiveness is.