There is a close connection between the times we live in and the answer to the question about people choosing friends with similar ideas.
In my personal opinion, this has to do with human nature, which has evolved with the advancement of technology, and which has become inclined toward minimal effort in everything, always taking the shortcut without effort. This, of course, is not necessarily healthy; quite the opposite.
"The more we connect digitally, the more we become humanly disconnected."
We live amidst a web of relationships, but its threads are now made of light, not warmth.
Just tonight over dinner, snaklsteps and I were discussing the dangers of taking shortcuts. Rarely are they beneficial long term. But as you said, it is all about ease and convenience now.