Just 25 years ago (before the rise of smartphones and social media), for any woman to feel desired and gain attention from unfamiliar men, she had to step outside. This was the only way. She had to make herself beautiful (in reality, not just in photos), and engage with men to receive a compliment. The number of new acquaintances she could make in a day ranged from 0 to a few, when strolling through crowded places where people often meet. But more often than not, it was just 0 or 1 new acquaintance.

Once smartphones with social media appeared, all a woman had to do was post a couple of photos online and receive dozens, even hundreds, of compliments and proposals, tailored to any taste. At times, women might have thousands of unread messages across several apps. The advent of filters soon made it unnecessary to look like your photo in real life. As a result, one could look good only occasionally, stay at home, have thousands of admirers, feel desired, and never meet a single man face to face. Men, at first, tried to attract women through messages, putting thought and wit into their words, but when they didn’t receive a response, they started writing more, paying less attention to what they wrote, creating fierce competition among themselves with almost no chance of a reply. And now, men are giving up on this entirely (as women stopped meeting men on the street around 10–15 years ago), as it has become a fruitless waste of energy, time, and unmet expectations.