I definitely understand the desire to "black-list" dating, and sometimes I've gone through periods where it's not worth the hassle, but then I have periods where it's totally worth it. The "return" as you put it is learning about somebody else and in the process, learning about yourself as a person. We are not isolated islands in a sea. Humans are community animals, and we function better, in 99% of cases, in dynamic with somebody else, be that a friend or lover, or a tinder date where you barely speak but fuck. Dating shouldn't be "work" either, not really. Lets take a sample scenario: You find somebody you think is cool, you say hi, you ask them to coffee, you chat about things. At no point is any of this work. If you don't find somebody you think is cool, you don't stress about it and you live your life. If you say hi and get no response, you didn't lose anything. If they say no to coffee, you smile and say "maybe next time" and go about your life, if you have nothing to chat about, then you "thanks for coffee" and thats it. None of this is work, and it's really not that complicated. I've noticed that people, especially males who don't date a lot, tend to overcomplicate dating like it's this mysterious thing that they have to work at it. One of the issues with that is that "working" at it shows, and it's not an attractive trait. This isn't like applying for a job where you want to pound pavement looking for one all day till you get one. Now, I don't know your life, and I'm not going to tell you what to do, or that you should give dating a chance again. You do you. But don't overcomplicate it, is all i'm saying, man.