I'm going to see a different side to this. Panina said the couple was the oldest in the room. At 67 my husband and I are the oldest in the room at gatherings with some of our closest friends. Yes, we're probably the ones who are the first to leave after 9 but while we're there we try to show up and be part of the group. That means being present, offering yourself, connecting, validating others.
There are people who let others do all the mental load. Heard about The Mental Load? Here's a cute briefer:
https://www.workingmother.com/this-comic-perfectly-explains-mental-load-working-mothers-bear#page-7
The mental load goes way beyond the interaction of a couple. It's giving a person grace when you see they need to change lanes, it's throwing your trash in the waste bin and not on the street, it's being helpful at an airport when you need to catch up to someone who has dropped a baby's shoe. It's going out of your way and comfort zone for the nurturing and good of others.
Some people give, give, give. Others take, take, take. TUG is a very giving community. At least the active participants are. Then there are the lurkers, always taking, never giving.
I have certain family members who I can see sitting at that table just waiting to be noticed and validated. If someone sat with them and found out their life story it could be interesting. I may be very wrong but I don't see them taking on the mental load and vulnerability to reach out to the lone couple at a table.
Maybe it's selfishness or maybe it's a lack of social skills. Personally, I've had to learn. I was very uncomfortable going into men's stores when I was young. I would go to find my Dad a gift and leave because I was too uncomfortable in the strange environment. Once I figured out I could repeatedly buy him a sweater I had the confidence of knowing what to ask for, buy it and leave.
Then came graduating and interviews. While I had vocational secretarial training in high school I wasn't confident that my skills were on par with being acceptable for a position. One of the first interviews concluded with the guy saying he didn't know if callers would be able to hear me on the other end of the phone. My first real job came when my sister quit her job at a local department store. Being too ignorant to understand waitlists, I assumed they would have an open position. It was in the Fall and fortunately extra staff was needed in the toy department so that's where I was placed under the watchful eye of a woman who had been there for eons. She was tough and scary but I was determined to meet her expectations and get along. It was rough at first but social skills grew as I worked with the other staff and customers. I ended up moving into departments closer to the main doors.
When I realized I could make a better salary as a bank teller that's what I tried next. My interviewing skills were better but it was a new skill and comfort zone. I was placed in the drive-up for training. They can turn the light on and off to slow down the traffic to your window. I eventually moved up towards the first window. Fast forward to moving to a bank in a large city (Washington, DC). I began there as a bank teller but I started looking for a better salary I decided to try that secretarial thing once more. I interviewed at a Savings and Loan and became the secretary to the leading officer in the Mortgage Department. Not the clerical pool.
Then on to legal secretary. After marriage we moved to Chicago. By the time I went to those interviews I was now asking law firms if they were offering positions I was looking for. My typing and shorthand skills were still middling but I had determination and a willingness to take on the attorneys who were known to be difficult. By then I knew I wanted to be a secretary to partners, not the associates. I had also developed good phone communication skills and enjoyed interactions with the clients.
Social skills is more than getting a job. It's life. You see it everywhere there are people. Some take on the load of being friendly, others don't. Are people naturally friendly? They can be naturally nice, but are they friendly? Being friendly means you want to be a friend. It's active. Do you want it enough to be vulnerable? Do you want to make the effort?
For the most part I'm nice and friendly. Active on both. There are times, though, that while I hope to be nice I'm human. Friendly? When I'm around my closest peeps it's so easy. Strangers are work. There's the list of questions that's much like an interview.
Now that Panina has taken on the mental load to reach out to this couple I would encourage them to reach back into the crowd. Even at 90 they have plenty to offer. One of my Words with Friends partners is 90+. She comes to church with her son and DIL every chance she can. Surely she's frail but she's present, she asks how you are and what you're doing, she validates the presence of you being in her life. She's had a long life and can understand your joys and sorrows.
Don't judge the others who didn't sit at their table. Obviously they have been doing some mental load to develop new friendships in their new community. Panina may be just the answer to bring the full room closer together.