Or e-mail, or chat in a video game, or a shared photo album, or blogs, or so many other things that the Internet still makes quite easy.
We've stayed in touch with eachother's social groups via various means of communication since antiquity without social media algorithms.
We need to re-normalize not knowing what is going on in someone else's life 24/7, and re-normalize not having 24/7 instant access to another person. It's not healthy.
Also, text messages don't need an instant response, nor should the other party expect an instant response. It's asynchronous communication for a reason!