The Red Quest had a similar point on the dating scene - ie. guys just aren’t trying very hard and it seems like strange behaviour but if you commit you can get excellent results.

Got any sources on this? I'm interested in the stats.

I personally don’t. Pick-Up has shifted over the years not many people do it the old school way. If you Google up Red Quest, he moved to Substack you can probably find the article. “Most guys just don’t care” or something like that.

And it’s true. People would rather get baited into online nonsensical outrage and neuter themselves by playing video games.

> neuter themselves by playing video games.

What does that mean?

Does trying hard at dating mean not playing video games...?

Yes, Straight Dope is a very good forum--a general forum; posters discuss all sorts of topics.

https://boards.straightdope.com/

Or in my case it taught me to not want to play the fucking thing at all.

Simple as.

Well the strategy relies on the games being really good in the first place, so that many people wouldn't take that option.