I clicked on this article mostly to see what the comments would be. They were worse than I imagined. I'm with you on this, even if I think you could have put more nuance into your post.

Nuance is the key here. Flirting is all about nuance and context.

The world has changed a lot and is still changing regarding what is acceptable and not. That is a good thing, in many cases a VERY good thing. Particularly regarding sexism and racism.

The internet is only one generation old. Social media posts usually have zero nuance or context. The impact of social media has had a huge impact on real-life interactions, and not entirely in a good way. People think a snapshot on Instagram or a repetition of verbal text conveys what happened. It doesn't because neither has nuance or context.

I'm extremely glad that I'm happily married and don't have to deal with this much. I say much, because I'm VERY cognizant of what pictures I post (very few!) and even more careful with what I write in "casual" texts. Everything is casual until it is not.