I don’t know, but here’s a different type of answer, but yet truthful about the way I feel about this. Personally I think the paradigm in many different cultures is lousy for how social interacting should be done.
One example is that we assign gender roles to who should do what, which in turn causes people to keep doing the same robotic things even when these don’t work. Another example is that society tells people it’s not normal to not have friends/relationships, but yet has created a system where one should not be too straightforward with this natural necessity, and play games or follow some stupid rules instead in order not to turn off others. However, when some people fail at this game we label them losers, weirdos, socially inept. Are people ‘weird’ because they’re alone, or because they failed at being pretenders?
I’m of the opinion that if people were simply more open with each other and truly more empathetic rejection would not even be much of an issue. We’re teaching people to face rejection consistently to the point where it doesn’t bother them anymore, which is wrong because inevitably enough rejection will sink anyone over time. What society should be doing instead is teaching people to be more open with others.
Maybe my answer doesn’t represent reality, but I also refuse to support a social system where games and putting others on pedestals are the way to have others in your life. I generally only try to interact with those who are open with me to begin with, so rejection is rarely an issue for me these days. The reality is rejection will always have a negative affect on us, no matter how strong we think we are, because there was a reason why we felt we wanted a particular person involved in our lives to begin with.