I remember when there was a time when you’d break up with someone and actually sit them down or at least call them to do so. Now, it seems as though people prefer a new way to end things: ghosting. It’s a complete disappearing act, instead of a proper goodbye to someone you were talking to. With this new term, people prefer to just cut off all ties with someone and ignore the other person’s attempts to reach out instead of just ending everything. People will just fade away instead of having an honest, up-front conversation as to why he or she no longer wants to talk or even date. If you’ve been on the receiving end, you know that it is a very frustrating and confusing experience that most likely left you wondering why anyone would ever ghost in the first place.

This seems to be very prevalent in the college student age demographic as well as online. Some people may meet others on Tinder, Instagram, Twitter, or other applications and hangout but then realize they no longer want to text or talk to this person in general. Even though there are many reasons as to why someone may ghost, it sill leaves the other person confused, hurt and sad. Some reasons may include, the guy or girl in question simply is trying to avoid conflict or the awkward conversation about why it didn’t work out, something weird might have happened, they may fear commitment, are not ready for a relationship, or maybe, they just do not like the person anymore.

I am just wondering how it got to this. Relationships used to mean something. People used to love each others company and focus on one person at a time. In my parent’s and grandparent’s day-and-age, relationships were worth a lot more than they are today. I feel like today there are so many distractions, applications, and ways for people to meet others. It is hard to stay focused on one individual. Some people may talk to another person for as long as they feel necessary and then ghost them as soon as they either find someone better, or just lose interest. I think a perfect quote for this is from Beyonce’s hit Single Ladies, “like a ghost, I’ll be gone.”