It’s a good point. I usually ask about my friends’ love lives/what they did on a given weekend as a launching point so I can inform them of guys I find cute/that I dated/had sex with. You’ll be doing them a favor, monstro by listening.
To echo other comments, if someone asks about crushes or anything say something like, “Oh, no one’s really doing it for me right now” or even “I dunno. Who’s appealing to you? Maybe I should take notes.”
When a coworker of mine goes on and on about Matthew McConacan’tspellit I end up doing precisely that. “Oh, yeah, he’s quite handsome isn’t he?” That seems to set her up for a good long while. 
In response to an unattractive baby, I now use the “Oooh, he looks just like you / your spouse!” or similar. She’s got your nose, his ears, whatever. Parents like to hear that and won’t take it as an insult 
I think you are learning the benefits of being old and crotchety.