Edit - I am referring to the subs on reddit etc that are seeking "cuddle buddy randos" etc. Not just in general with your friends.

My heart was broken last year to find out my partner had been seeking "anon cuddle buddies" right before dating. I realized then nothing was intimate to him at all. I was of course right and he was a sociopath and a sexual abuser.

Like I have never seen this phenomenon before Covid.

Cuddling is much more intimate than sex and usually makes you feel safe and secure with someone you know and are close to.

Doesn't it feel dangerous and unsettling to do that with a random person?

Why are people all over the internet post this suddenly in lieu of relationships.