Does anyone feel incredibly uncomfortable asking for other people's phone numbers? I used to be able to do this many years ago but I'm now super uncomfortable about it. It stems from people not wanting to be bothered and accidentally coming off as needy or too eager. I know other people are able to do this without any problems but I just don't have it in me to take that initiative anymore due to the fear of being seen as needy or too eager to start a friendship or for any other reason.

This actually goes hand in hand with taking the initiative to talk to other people in social situations. I've seen some people ask for other people's phone numbers the first time they meet without any problems but if I do it then it looks cringy and clingy. The only rare occasions I take the initiative is if I absolutely need it for a work related reason and even then I absolutely hate asking and others don't particularly like it either even though they share numbers with each other. Otherwise I just wait for people to take that initiative to give me their number and ask for mine since if they truly want to have mine and want me to have theirs then they will ask.