They bore the hell out of me. Signal to noise ratio is not good. If anything, they isolate people more.
I don't come to a place like /. for companionship, I come to learn stuff, which I get. Something like Facebook is the reverse. All I learn there is useless stuff like "my baby burped," "OMFG my dog just shat on the carpet" or "I feel sad, bored, unhappy, unfulfilled, etc, etc..."