It's of course best to avoid ranting about stuff that will make you sound like a conspiracy nut. If that isn't obvious enough.
People you just meet... From what people my age tell me is that even they don't like giving out their phone numbers. They tend to only share their Instagram. And when somebody asks for that instead of my number, I've gotten comfortable enough to tell them I don't use that stuff. Sometimes I joke and say I'll give you my email. Most take it.
I absolutely hate phone numbers. For technical reasons. Maybe that's how I feel so willing to only contact people through email or XMPP/Jabber.
And for people I just met, I don't like giving out too much information anyways. 😆
I guess I just happened to find the right community where the network effect runs well. Outside of my main community it starts with email.
People who join me on my preferred platform are the ones that I can better prioritize attention to.
By the way, what is your preferred platform for private communication?