There is another topic to argue that is whether meetups are really useful or not. A lot of things are "useful" only to the point that they provide certain excitement, like coffee, and then that's it. I mean it's still better than nothing, but converting excitement to productivity is not easy.
I think there is something to positive human experiences that you can't replace online. I get preferring virtual interactions for the reasons you listed, but if you can find the right people to have those with in real life, you get the benefit of emotional connection which can be very rewarding. Connecting with other people is still why you try to have any interactions at all, virtual or not.
