Does anyone else find this sort of stuff very corporate and off-putting? I'm all for hanging out with some coworkers on occasion. I like quite a few of them. But company-sponsored "hang out with your coworkers to foster friendships!" time just seems fake.
For a lot of people who move in from strange places on earth to work at FB/Goog/tech company, making friends is very hard. Hanging out with co-workers has been the primary way for a lot of people I know to have a social life.
I'm a nerdy Asian guy who worked with a predominantly white company and it was very lonely there, because none of the white people want to "hang out with co-workers". However, moving to a larger company really helped me make friends and boost my self esteem. It may be corporatey, but I'm thankful my company atleast cares that much.
TL;DR the relationships are by no means shoved down your throat by the company, they just provide an environment that makes it easy.
No you're not. I refuse to participate in them.