Ghosting

Ghosting is a new word referring to the behavior of suddenly ending contact with someone. 



Origin

The word emerged in the 2000s, in the context of interpersonal relationships, including dating. The word was later popularized by social media.

Causes

The most common causes for why ghosting happens are:

 Political differences
 Avoidance of emotional discomfort
 Hook-up culture making it easier for contact to be cut without consequences 



Prevalence

In 2014, a YouGov survey was done to see if Americans had ever ghosted their partner to end a relationship. In that survey, 1,000 US adults were interviewed about ghosting, yielding the result that just over 10% of Americans had ghosted someone to break up with them.

Issues

Psychologists are critical of ghosting as a behavior, classifying it as passive-aggressive behavior, which is a form of emotional abuse.

Related pages

 Social rejection
 Psychopathology
 Personality disorder

References

Category:Relationships
Category:Antisocial personality disorder