[the_af]

I suppose it's a compromise. Using your example, a LOT of people simply don't enjoy going to parties with rooms full of people to try and talk to maybe 30 women/men in one night. Sometimes they find it boring, sometimes they get anxious, sometimes they find it intimidating and wouldn't know how to signal interest without being weird (parties can be confusing that way; most people aren't there to meet a date or hook up). Contrast it with Tinder and similar apps: while people sometimes pretend "a friend installed Tinder on my phone, I never use it!", everyone knows what everyone else is there for, and what they're signalling when they swipe right or start chatting with someone.