One thing I might suggest to people wanting to get more experience talking with strangers is, ironically, VRChat. It throws you into rooms with strangers where

One thing I might suggest to people wanting to get more experience talking with strangers is, ironically, VRChat. It throws you into rooms with strangers where everyone in the room with you is there for the purpose of socializing and having fun. There's an expectation that people in VRChat will be greeting and meeting other people, unlike in real life where only a subset of the people around you at any random point in time would be interested in it. It's basically a lower stress, lower risk, lower effort way of getting dropped into a room with a bunch of people that are receptive to meeting and talking with you. That being said, it's not for everyone. It can be quite chaotic, and it's a hassle filtering out annoying children. It's also an expensive rabbit hole to go down if you want the full VR experience.