And at the same time, social anxiety has been steadily increasing among young people due to decreased human connection, driven by smartphone use. Tell a random 20 year old to go to their local park and strike up a conversation with a stranger for no reason except that they are at the same park, and they’ll look at you like you just told them to assassinate the prime minister of Czechoslovakia - not only are they sure it is a bad idea, but they are pretty sure it is impossible, since Czechoslovakia hasnt been a country for quite some time now.

So these factors combine. They believe that even approaching a woman already makes them a bad person. Then layer on top social anxiety that makes talking to strangers already horrifying. And the brain comes up with a scenario that justifies the fear: You are a bad person if you approach a woman - you’re a bad person just for thinking about it - so if you actually did such a fucked up thing, it would definitely get recorded and posted online. Everyone would know what a fucked up person you are, you’d probably get MeToo’d, and sent to jail for sexual assault. Better never talk to anyone, just to be safe.

Damn that was a bit too close to home for comfort. However I’m closer to 40’s than 20’s xD

I see myself as a shy introvert and I’d rather avoid social interactions if I can, as I feel I’m bothering the other person(s). So approaching a woman randomly… Yeah the second quoted paragraphe summarise how the experience would feel.

That’s why I liked dating apps years ago, before it (apparently) went to shit (I stopped now that I have a partner): clear background and expectations, minimised misunderstanding.