OP, the main thing to focus on is not giving up. If you give up, you will definitely ‘lose’. I'm kinda a loner myself, but I've been able to find friends (online/offline), so I'll give a few tips.

The most important is to find friends who have the same hobbies as you. If you hang out around something you like (for example, tennis (bear with me!)), then people will naturally start gravitating towards you. This may be tricky if you don't have RL hobbies, but there's nothing preventing online relationships from spilling offline. If you have the option, you could try to go to a university/college or finding a job.

Obviously, there's the issue of you sitting alone talking to no-one...and the only advice I can give there is that you have to force yourself to engage. If you have trouble talking to others, practice at home first...start talking to yourself, or talking to a pet, a plant (as >>3 suggests), some stuffed animal (if you have a teddy bear) or literally whatever. If you're scared of having trouble with dialogue, then try talking to some AI like ChatGPT (but don't let yourself get addicted to it! only use it for small bits of practice!). Since I get the impression you want to talk aloud, read your own messages aloud after you send them to the AI. Also, don't be an ass and try to understand the POV of others (I'm assuming you're smart enough for that, but it's good to keep in mind anyway).

I personally wouldn't go into dating apps, but I haven't tried them myself and you could get lucky.

Also, ignore >>2, his attitude will only lead you to ruin.

Good luck OP. Just be kind to yourself and be patient...do your best and your best should be enough.