Peace
I honestly think 'lower your gaze' is not really what sunni Islam teaches.
In sunni Islam, 'lower your gaze' means to not look at someone of the opposite sex for I guess more than a moment or two in any context (i.e. real life, a video or photo even if they're fully clothed) and to instead look towards the floor. The only exception I've known of is when you meet a potential spouse but that exception was made in the hadith so it wouldn't even apply to Qur'an alone believers. In other words, if we think the lower the gaze concept of sunni Islam is correct, we wouldn't even have that exception when it comes to intending to marry someone.
But the above interpretation doesn't make that much sense to me. If someone single were to meet their potential spouse, it's not as if when they're getting to know each other, they'll have to constantly avoid making eye contact. How an earth would you know you're even attracted to that person or what their motives are if you're not even examining their facial expressions?It wouldn't be logical. Even in situations such as a job interview, you naturally examine the interviewer's face to see if they are open to you getting the job, also to show that you are paying attention thus being respectful and to communicate effectively because communication isn't just through speaking but also through body language and facial expressions.
Also the lower the gaze verses seem so open to interpretation. It doesn't even say 'Men lower your gaze towards women and vice versa, it just tells each sex to lower their gaze...BUT TO WHAT? The opposite sex? Pornography and nudity in general (even if it's your own sex/ gender)? Or does it mean to just not stare at someone in an inappropriate way? Not all stares/ gazes are the same...staring at someone in a sexual vs. romantic way for example...they're two stares which are NOT quite the same...
There is this article about this topic on the 'QuranicPath' website which mentioned something along the lines of that the verses do not actually mean 'lower the gaze' as in to look towards the floor but more of, do not stare excessively.
What about in contexts such as friendship...so it's okay for a female for example to make eye contact with a female friend but wrong to make eye contact with a male friend (even if you don't even fancy them)? Again, this wouldn't make sense logically speaking (unless you think it's forbidden to be friends with the opposite sex but there is no evidence in the Qur'an for this).
Moreover, there is a difference between 'staring' and making continuous eye contact right? During normal eye contact, you would break it from time to time naturally. With prolonged eye contact, I guess sometimes you may not even look away esp. if you're really interested in what the other person has to say but it's different from a stare because your eyes would not be 'wide open', they would be more relaxed. To stare means to open your eyes much wider than they naturally open.