Emma GreenIn today’s digital age, we’re more connected than ever, but with insidious social trends like ghosting becoming more commonplace, we’ve never been so disconnected either.
Communication has rapidly evolved over the last two decades and, thanks to the internet, social media and smartphones, it has never been easier to form and maintain connections with others. An unfortunate by-product of living in today’s hyper-connected world, though, is the effect it has had on how we choose to cease contact with others and end relationships.
Technology has given us new and effortless ways to prune our contact list and stop unwarranted interactions, the most notable of these being ghosting.
Ghosting is a colloquial term that refers to the practice of one person ending all forms of communication with another, without prior warning or justification. Messages are left on “read”, calls are ignored, and social media ties may be severed. The ghoster suddenly disappears, leaving the other person (the ghostee) haunted by unanswered questions as to what they did wrong to cause such a brutal and abrupt end to the relationship.
In a recent study by the University of Georgia, it was discovered that two thirds of participants had been both perpetrators and victims of ghosting on several occasions.
Another report by the Thriving Center of Psychology found that 84% of Millennial and Gen Z participants had been ghosted by someone, yet 65% of them had also engaged in ghosting behaviour themselves.
The word ghosting first entered the cultural zeitgeist during the early 2000s, but it didn’t become a popular expression until the mid-2010s, with the surge in online dating seeing it being added to the Collins English Dictionary in 2015.
Although we usually associate ghosting with dating and romantic relationships, it has become an increasingly used word within other social spheres, such as platonic and professional relationships.
“Messages are left on ‘read’, calls are ignored, and social media ties may be severed.”
In today’s competitive job market, it is now the norm for job seekers to be met with radio silence by prospective employers after sending out an application or attending an interview.
This can work both ways too — an employee might quit without giving notice or a new hire is suddenly nowhere to be seen on their first day of work.