Like I said, focus on a social version of your hobbies. Even things you might do alone in your home, I guarantee you that people like to get together physically and do that thing, or virtually to at least talk and learn together.
Its hard to give specific examples for you but say you like to do some sort of arts and craft, or some form of excercise, then you’d find a social space around that and start participating regularly. You would primarily focus on the thing you are doing but a secondary focus would be slowly building relationships with those in your group.
It doesnt take long being around someone before they feel they know you well enough to feel safe doing other things or even more intimate things. Youll also be sure that the people in the group have at least something major in common with you.
Maybe you could explain why you think thats a worse choice than playing the lottery on dating apps/sites?
Well you said dating apps are shit - I agree - as well as dating culture is shit - which I confused with you calling dating in general as shit.
What you’ve described, meeting people socially, dating them to gauge compatibility, going ahead of stopping relationship, that’s all part of dating culture imo.
Yeah I think I was a bit confusing, I’m saying essentially anything labeled actual “dating” is code for sex, in person or online. Although I won’t discount that there is likely a few dating apps out there that are essentially anti-hookup (ive heard anecdotes of using christian mingle even if you are atheist).
As for your last point, you are right that what I described can be dating culture, in the traditional sense of the word. But the key is, it doesnt have to be. Those things are different things to different people. I’m saying you should do those things but dont treat them as dating. Be more interested in the thing, rock climbing or whatever it is, work on improving yourself and helping others improve. You won’t look desperate, which is one of the biggest turn offs when meeting people, and you will have something to talk about somewhat confidently.
Also asking others for help is a great way to cause them to like you, as weird as that sounds. Its an ego thing I think.
The point is, again just from my perspective, is to not focus on dating itself, just focus on being around people doing something you care about. People are attracted to genuine people who aren’t desperate.
You ever walk by a street musician and are drawn to stop and watch? Think about why that might be, why you might feel safe enough to walk up to a street musician and engage with them but you might be afraid to engage with a random person who you run into at the coffee shop.