Throughout high school, a majority of us will be in a relationship or two. Although some will last longer than others, there are various methods of breaking up. There is the angry breakup, the sad breakup, the mutual breakup and ghosting.
The method of ghosting is when there are two people in a relationship and one of the people just disappear, stop answering or coming around. The couple instead drifts apart. This is a dating trend that has recently begun. It is more common within the relationships of younger people. A poll conducted by YouGov and The Huffington Post shows that ghosting happens most often in couples between the ages of 18-29.
Teenagers and young adults are often criticized on their communication skills. Ghosting is common in this age group because it is easier than facing someone and officially ending the relationship. With dating websites to help make finding someone to date a lot less personal, ghosting seems like the reasonable way to end things.
Since young people find different ways to start relationships that have minimal face-to-face time, of course they would find a way to end the relationship with the people they just jumped mindlessly into it with using almost no human interaction.
This raises the question, is this really an ideal way to end a relationship?
“I think it’s kind of a cheesy way to breakup,” Sophomore Stephanie Barker said.
Another flaw with this technique is that if you just cut off contact with someone, they would more than likely become really worried. There are so many possibilities of what they think. Are you somewhere without service? Did you lose your phone? Did you get your phone taken away?
“The other person doesn’t know what’s going on, so you’re sitting there freaking out because this person just stopped talking to you.” Barker said.
Along with that, ghosting is just a poor way to end your relationship. The whole situation is left ambiguous. They are left unclear as to if you were either busy or if you were trying to break things off. Being the “ghostee”, or the person who is getting ghosted, would probably be really awkward too. Things would feel unresolved.
“I feel like there’s so much tension left there,” Sophomore Hannah Buerkle said.
It’s also a matter of respect and what kind of person you are. Most people would probably feel better off with some sort of explanation for it, rather than an abrupt ending.
Some people are hypocritical and are only against ghosting when it’s their partner doing it to them, but are totally for it when they’re the ghost.
“I think it’s a stupid way to breakup,” Freshman Mikayla Evans said.
So whether you’re for or against ghosting, I think we can unanimously agree that it is a cruel way to break up with someone.