These days, networking has been made easier with social media, where you can easily make a referral, and people on your contact list take it seriously based on the level of trust and reliability that they have for you.
If you make a referral and people who follow it are satisfied, their level of confidence and trust in you increases, and they value you more.
There is a need to be careful about the referrals you make, because some referrals are capable of ruining your image and the trust that people will have in you.
I have seen people question why bitcoin is still the first choice that is referred to new people in cryptocurrency who want to invest, and one reason for that is that bitcoin can be relied on when compared to other cryptocurrencies, especially the new ones, and you don't want to gamble with your referrals.
I know we always have to advise people to do their own research for any referral given to them, but still, you do not want to give someone a referral on some altcoin just for them to do their own research and find out that they just dodged a bullet.
Do not just refer to any cryptocurrency; refer to bitcoin when introducing a newbie to cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin is safer than altcoins but that doesn't mean investing in it is risk-free, so introducing risk to others is not a wise idea. I will refuse to recommend cryptocurrency to anyone in any way because not only will it not benefit me, but it could also bring me into disrepute if their investment fails.
As you also said, the internet and social networks have become very close these days, so I believe bitcoin news is also spread a lot there. Therefore, we do not need to waste time introducing BTC to everyone.
Additionally, if they have discovered bitcoin on their own then they can also learn about it on their own as knowledge about it is not too difficult to find on the internet.