Social games aren't social enough, but do we really want more?

Many followers of the social games industry likely feel inundated with the claims that social games are not social enough or they're downright evil. While I can't help but agree, I also can't help but play devil's advocate. Social connections are used by today's Facebook games as mere means to an end. Today's social gamers are only as successful as the amount of dedicated friends they have, regardless of whether those "friends" are genuine. Truth be told, those friends are replaceable. But what if they weren't?