For many people, social media is how you send things to parents and friends. It's more straightforward than managing an email list, and needn't be any less real a connection.
I don't deny that ubiquitous social media is deforming our interactions, but I think a lot of people don't understand why Facebook et al got so popular in the first place. It's not just email for idiots. It's a tremendously useful tool for maintaining connections with a large and changing group.