Important not to confuse casual sex with strangers or purely sexual no strings attachments with friends with benefits.
Friends with benefits implies friendship first and foremost.
Good mutual friends..

All depends where you draw the line between 'friends' & 'strangers'. See, a pair of people could meet socially and get on as 'mates' and then think there might be a bit of fun there too, without either having been long term friends or there being any evident romantic interest.

That's not cruising, it's "Hey, we have a good laugh together, lets fall into bed?" But in many respects, 'mate' sex is worse than 'stranger' sex or 'friend' sex, because neither party really knows the other.

As for stranger sex, I think that really depends on the social etiquette of one's immediate social group. For gay men I know, it's almost a formulaic ritual faceless congress, where everyone knows the rules. No doubt people do get hurt and some may feel crap about such encounters, but I tend to believe that certain (sub)cultural norms diminish the possible emotional confusion and distress we might otherwise expect to experience in such circumstances.