I thought women were overreacting to the creepy new trend...

It was a typical Wednesday when I stepped out of my office to grab an early bite to eat - something I do most days to avoid the lunch-hour rush that takes over the CBD. After buying my salad, I strolled along the harbourside boardwalk in Barangaroo, soaking up the summer sun.

Yet another average, hour-long outing in the city. Until I got the sense I was being followed. Life prepares women for these kinds of situations. I'm no stranger to carrying keys between my knuckles when walking home alone at night. In the middle of the day, not so much.

I weaved and turned, hoping this presence behind me would turn around or overtake - but they didn't. Another 300m down a quieter street, and a young man who couldn't have been older than 20 skipped in front of me and held out his hand. 'Hi, my name's-'.

There's something happening on the streets and beaches of Sydney - and probably other cities around the world - that gives every encounter a young woman has with a stranger an edge of menace, writes Deputy Showbusiness Editor Savanna Young. Surprised and a little unsettled, I managed a smile and a handshake, unsure of his motive or where this conversation was going.

'How was your weekend?' he asked. I told him I'd worked, before he asked me another unexpected question. 'Could I get your number?'. By this point, I was feeling unnerved. I knew this man had followed me for several minutes - had it been a more spontaneous approach, perhaps I wouldn't have felt so troubled. Now he was asking for my number.

I told him I had a boyfriend, then awkwardly wished him a good day and headed back to the office, faster than I usually would, and tried not to look over my shoulder. I want to be clear: while awkward and unsettling due to how unexpected it was, I do think this young man's approach was largely innocent.

His biggest mistake was following me and being so unsubtle about it, not necessarily what he said during his approach. A man had followed me for several minutes before asking for my number. Had it been a more spontaneous approach, perhaps I wouldn't have felt so troubled.

There are several men on TikTok who are approaching women in Sydney, telling them they're 'hot' before asking for their numbers. Seems harmless, right? Except they're unknowingly being filmed and their exchanges are being posted online. That feeling of having someone behind me, watching me, lingered with me for the rest of the day. I told my co-workers what had happened and one colleague shared a similar story of an exchange that had escalated way more than mine had.

After a man had stepped in front of her suddenly to tell her she was 'beautiful', he'd pressed her until she felt she had no choice but to give away her phone number. He'd then bombarded her with messages. When they went unanswered, there was a Facebook friend request.

'What began as a polite comment turned into behaviour that felt intrusive and, frankly, creepy,' she told me. And that's exactly how I felt. Because here's the thing. There's something far more unsettling happening on the streets and beaches of Sydney - and probably other cities and towns - that gives every encounter a woman has with a man she doesn't know an edge of menace.

There are several men on TikTok who are approaching women in Sydney, telling them they're 'hot' before asking for their numbers. Seems harmless, right? Except they are unknowingly being filmed, and their exchanges are then posted online for anyone to see.

TikTok user @itspolokidd was banned from the app last week after being reported to NSW Police for posting his interactions with women who were unaware they were being filmed. A TikTok user named Sayed, who goes by the handle @itspolokidd, was permanently banned from the video-based app this week after being reported to NSW Police for posting his interactions with women who were unaware they were being filmed.

He allegedly recorded his interactions using Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, before uploading the material without their consent to his 1.2 million followers. 'You are very f***ing beautiful. I like you,' he told one woman lying on the sand at Bondi Beach.

In another clip, he grabbed and kissed a woman's hand without her consent, after she had already told him several times she was in a relationship. Sayed tells women he believes 'guys are shy' and he's 'trying to show them that they shouldn't be', encouraging young men that this is the right way to approach women.

David Thorpe, a self-proclaimed 'Dating Coach For Men', is following Sayed's lead by filming his engagements with women. With 1,200 followers on Instagram and 4,500 YouTube subscribers, David's videos often start just like the young man who approached me.

'Excuse me. Can I be a bit cheeky?' he says in several videos after stepping in front of his chosen target. David Thorpe, a self-proclaimed 'Dating Coach For Men', is following Sayed's lead by filming his encounters with women. With 1,200 followers on Instagram and 4,500 subscribers on YouTube, David's videos often begin just like the young man who approached me.