I think what mostly draws people to the apps is the ability to be in a space that you know others are open towards that type of advancements. Additionally the fact that many struggle to be in public in a way that encourages random interactions with strangers.
Myself as an example, outside of shopping/chores I don’t have much reason to be in many public spaces so the chances of meeting people that way are fairly minimal. whereas an app would present all those people in the same boat or that just have lifestyles that would leave us missing eachother passively.
I don’t think either option is “wrong” but there are benefits to each that pander towards different problems. The apps are just particularly predatory and ill crafted to actually get what people want