"Picking on" or "ribbing" your friends?

I wonder if this is millennial-wide or just a microcosm I was in.

For my best friends growing up, we all were slightly aggressive to one another, just sort of sarcastically or good-naturedly picking on one another. We all liked/loved one another, but it seemed the way we showed that was by letting our social-niceness guard down and giving each other a hard time for fun. Obviously not all the time, but it was just an outward sign of closeness. Certainly if I had just met you or wasn't that close to you, I would be nothing but nice.

As I've made friends in younger generations, I don't see that behavior out of them. They express kind feelings with...kindness. They're so supportive to one another. When I slip into my old habits, I often feel the need to apologize for picking on them.

Has anyone else experienced this? I honestly think the way the younger folks treat each other is probably healthier, but it's just a change I haven't really seen discussed elsewhere.