>America also has a cultural obsession with self-reliance/liberty/frontier-as-a-virtue which makes "socializing" a bit of a taboo concept, in a weird way.
The "self-reliance/liberty/frontier-as-a-virtue" culture, which is strongly tied to Southern culture, is the culture that is more open about socializing with anyone. It's Northern and West coast US culture where people don't even want to look at each other in the eyes. Southerners will greet strangers and pick up conversations with randoms in a bar. That's taboo in the North.
The "self-reliance/liberty/frontier-as-a-virtue" culture, which is strongly tied to Southern culture, is the culture that is more open about socializing with anyone. It's Northern and West coast US culture where people don't even want to look at each other in the eyes. Southerners will greet strangers and pick up conversations with randoms in a bar. That's taboo in the North.
Your premise is wholesale incorrect.