Ghosting

Ghosting is ending a relationship or connection by suddenly cutting off all communication without explanation. It most often refers to dating, but it also happens between friends and in work.

The longer explanation

Researchers have studied ghosting as a breakup strategy since the late 2010s. LeFebvre and colleagues (2019) called it a "digital dissolution disappearance strategy" among emerging adults. Freedman and colleagues (2019) found that people who believe in romantic "destiny" saw ghosting as more acceptable. Park and Klein (2024) reported that people who ghost often say they want to avoid hurting someone, and that people who are ghosted tend to underestimate that motive. Being ghosted or breadcrumbed has been linked to lower life satisfaction and more loneliness (Navarro et al., 2020).

Popular content often links ghosting to avoidant attachment. Some research supports a modest association, but many different people ghost for many different reasons.

Example

Four months of dating, plans for next weekend, then nothing: messages delivered and never answered.

What it is not

Going no contact after a clear ending, or to protect your safety, isn't ghosting. Neither is a slow reply.

Online use vs research use

Online, "ghosting" is sometimes used for any reduction in contact. Research uses it for an unexplained, one-sided cut-off.

The silence was an answer. I heard it.