Hey Jess! Just want to start by saying I am really sorry about the way you've been treated in the game. It's not acceptable and I'm glad you're speaking up about it. (Also sorry this response ended up being really long, I've just had a lot of thoughts about this issue lately.)
There are a few things I've noticed in the game recently. As a side note, I joined a little over a year ago. At first it was really fun -- I think there were a lot more new players at the time because there was a mass effort by admins to get players to come back via email. I found it really easy as a new player to make friends with other new players.
I also notice the events last year were a lot more team-based instead of individually-based. There used to be this event called "Battle the Staff" where players would be teamed up to play mini-games against staff members. I made one of my first friends after we successfully beat them in a round of POTC battle. There hasn't been one of these events in a LONG time and I wish they could be brought back. In June 2018, October 2018, and January 2019 there were crates in public rooms that people could collect for free, and it was easy to find a friendly group to collect them with. I thought it was the most chill way to interact with new people, and as a plus, people could get rare items regardless of whether or not they were "new". It was so casual and fun. The Dreams events could bring people together (but I also found that players could also become EXTREMELY aggressive about who was "allowed" to be in their PUBLIC room). Personally, I'm not the biggest fan. Either way, the number of collaborative events in this game has dropped significantly, making it much harder for less-active and new players to make friends organically.
Because of this shift in activities in-game, it becomes more obvious that many active players are more focused on obtaining items. It's all about accumulating credits as quickly as possible and getting the next hot pin/hat/furni. Some people aren't as interested in making friends, and maybe even find new players untrustworthy because they could be trolls/clones. This is an unfortunate result of having such a small number of active players.
I'd recommend joining the official discord server if you haven't already. I feel like people talk more casually there and it's easier to have a conversation with people you wouldn't normally meet. If you need the link, let me know. Also if you ever feel isolated, feel free to reach out. If anyone is being outright mean to you, don't be afraid to report someone.
Again, I'm sorry you've been treated so poorly. I hope you are able to have more positive experiences soon! This game is really great when you meet the right people!