This is the risk. Sometimes those "warning signs" really are warning signs. I usually told myself that if they were in a social place (bar, club, party) that I had the right to at least attempt a conversation. It's different in other places (store, gym, street), though I sometimes tried those too lol.I can see this too. Actually, I was somewhere not long ago and I was looking at my phone. I was bored and I didn't want to be bothered though. Some guy came up to me and started telling me to put the phone down. yah FO dude....I wasn't looking to be bothered.
My point was just that these women who were complaining about never meeting anyone might want to be more approachable by putting the phone down, making eye contact, smiling, etc.
But I never pushed it. I stepped up with whatever confidence I had and put across the vibe I hoped for in return. I generally got a clear signal one way or the other, and the signal was usually positive. They weren't all interested ultimately, but they were almost always nice enough.