I've got a theory that it has to do with how hard the "Stranger danger!" Thing was pushed on our generation. Of course it can be bad to trust strangers, but talking with them should be fine.

Up until recently, I'd had crippling social anxiety where I could never talk with people I didn't know unless they initiated the conversation (even then it was pretty bad), and I've noticed a lot of other people in gen Z have this issue too.

Only managed to fix the issue just by practically forcing myself to talk with people I don't know through playing EVE Online. It's ridiculous that it's so ingrained that "Strangers are dangerous!" That I had to fucking force myself to talk with strangers.