That's the thing -- it's not online access only. More and more people are finding each other online and forming lasting relationships from it.
I currently live in a country where dating is extremely hard, especially so for the foreigners. Finding my people here just doesn't happen. Oh sure there are meetup groups, but that's a handful of people. Using a simple app like FB to find english-speaking people in your area who have a common interest? An extremely useful tool.
just because it's trendy, doesn't mean it's good