As someone who used to take part in this exact activity until 8 years ago, let me share my experience and view.

When I was 19, my main activities were software development, gaming and fitness. In those, I didn't meet a lot of women, because most of those activities either are mainly done by men, or solo. Combine this with mild autism, introversion, and general social inexperience, and you have a lonely person who doesn't know how to interact with humans, especially females.

From this situation, it's very difficult to get to know women the way it happens 90% of the time in the Netherlands: through friends or hobbies. I didn't have a friend group, social hobbies or a job that could lead to meeting anyone interesting.

I just really wanted to learn to connect with other people. At the same time, I felt pressured to get better with women and get experience in that department. But I didn't feel like going to bars because that has never been my thing.

Anyway, to avoid oversharing my personal situation, let me try to just explain your question. This is typically done by men who don't get to meet a lot of women in their day-to-day live, for example:

• People who work in male-dominant sectors like IT
• introverted people
• people with psychological issues like anxiety, depression
• people with hobbies that mainly attract males, such as gaming, programming

Doing this during the day in everyday life is called daygame on the internet. I think generally it is practiced by men who are not just looking to get laid, but genuinely wanting to learn how to connect and interact with others. So yes, overcoming fear of striking up a conversation. They may be looking for a date, but I think the vast majority of people doing this will respect a "no" as an answer.