That "deafening silence" is the entire point of Bumble. It seems really mentally gymnastic to see the women-initiate-conversation-first rule as "dumping even more work on the woman." What is more exhausting:
1. Choosing entirely on one's own terms whether to say "hey" to someone you swiped right on
2. Sifting through literally hundreds of "hey"s from men
Skip the "really mentally gymnastic" contortions and say what you mean.
There's no question that it takes more effort to think of something better than "hey" to say than it does to read that message. And let's not forget that the matched people have both explicitly opted into a conversation.
I thought the entire point of Bumble was to spare women from gross messages and dick pics.
1. Choosing entirely on one's own terms whether to say "hey" to someone you swiped right on
2. Sifting through literally hundreds of "hey"s from men