This is actually common in many other cultures and I wish it was more normalized in general US culture.
That being friendships where there is no need for a reason to hang out besides the company.
I live in NYC and I have some select friends who also grew up culturally outside the US and we do this:
If I asked them what they were up to, they’d say something like “going to the barbershop for a haircut”, “doing laundry at the laundromat”, or other errands.
I would then ask to tag along and maybe say a thing or two from time to time, but for the most part I’m doing something parallel to them.
Usually I’m reading a book, checking my phone, watching Netflix, working on my laptop etc.
It’s great.
There’s no need for an excuse to be with these friends.
We just enjoy each other’s company.
I do also love YourFavoriteSon’s 3hr20 retrospective on the whole series, Gingy’s 2h18 story breakdown of the series as well as NeverKnowBest’s 2h10 retrospective on the whole series!
(Love a good long-form video essay on videogames lol)