Why is classic so much more social?

I recently returned after a 14 year absence and have played era, then retail and have just started playing vanilla classic. One thing I've noticed is that classic wow is so much more social (especially vanilla) I've not reached level 10 yet on vanilla and have already had so many interactions with other players. Compare this to retail where I've reached level 70 I'm the dragonflight zones and I don't think I've spoken to anyone. I haven't purchased War Within yet so maybe when I move to these areas it might change. I also for the life of me can't find a decent guild where there's more than 10 or so members online at any time, and the guild chat is always dead. Whereas in classic I haven't had this problem. Is anyone able to tell me if I'm missing something? I enjoy retail but I find all the differences since I originally played back in 2009-11 had to catch up with. I especially miss the social aspect.