Social Prisoner's Dillemma

When 2 people find themselves in a social situation, usually what happens is they never meet. Each one is afraid to make the first move socially because of any number of several different possible reasons. For one thing they might be too proud. They might look at the situation and think "I am the cooler person here with higher value (whatever that means to them). That other person should be the one wanting to hang out with me, therefore I'll just let them be the one to break the ice."

Now in this case the other person is either thinking the same thing, or they're too intimidated because they think they have lower social value and would not be well received. Or maybe both people are just scared of being embarrassed and rejected.

The point is, making the first move socially doesn't have to signify anything other than "I am a social person, with no fear of meeting new people, and I have limited time so I will just bust in and get right to it! I also understand that most people are scared to do this, therefore I will be the one to take charge and get the party started."

So all in all the person who who approaches and is the one to start the conversation is NOT signifying they have lesser value, nor does it have to mean they are needy and want something. Instead its about actually being friendly and social in a social setting and not wanting to waste time.