It’s fair to say that almost everybody reading this article has intense experiences with ghosting, the practice of someone never responding to your messages, calls or any other form of communication as a way to ignore and get out of a situation.
Unfortunately, we have normalized this practice so intensely that the impact of it is hardly even mentioned and the concept of doing it has become the norm.
Those like me, with high levels of anxiety and other mental health issues, have a hard time understanding ghosting culture. We tend to not comprehend the message sent through ghosting because it is so indirect and unexplainable.
When we do comprehend it however, it brings a massive amount of pain and anxiety due to never having answers or closure to the situation. People with such high amounts of anxiety begin to blame themselves or find other self-deprecating ways to excuse this behavior, which leads to worsened self-worth and love.
I’ve heard many examples of people either considering, or losing their lives because of the impact of ghosting. It’s a cowardly way for a person to handle a situation. It is never the answer unless you have already tried multiple forms of cutting someone off.
For example, ghosting could be a reasonable action when you tell someone multiple times you no longer want to talk to them, but they continue to reach out and spam your inbox. Then, you may have a reason because you have addressed the situation and explained how you feel.
Ghosting when you see someone’s looks and lose interest is not a way to handle the situation, nor is it an acceptable way to break up with somebody or end any relationship. If you are involved in a complicated situation with someone and no longer want to be connected, you should find a way to handle it in a way that shows respect to both sides.
Breaking up with somebody or ending an affair via ghosting is a heavily harmful way of handling a situation because that person cares deeply. Disappearing leaves them with no closure and forces them to reevaluate what they did wrong and how what they did was so bad you couldn’t even talk to them about ending the situation.
My experiences with ghosting have been very hurtful and painful. It has created a mass amount of self-hate and confusion for me, and the consequences of it are ones that take years to fix. Many people on dating apps or social media will ghost someone for any small reason and leave the other person hanging. It’s a very toxic action.
Another reason to not ghost is because communication with the other party could resolve the situation and allow things to continue onward. Expressing your feelings and emotions is a massive part of respect and maturity that all adults should have. It’s also simple human decency to treat someone with the same respect you would want back to you. If you’ve ghosted somebody for a reason that isn’t logical, you need to apologize immediately.
Ghosting has shown more than ever that Generation Z is less mature than they claim. Joining into the action of ghosting is simply just proving you are not fit for any form of relationship and that you are not considerate of other people’s feelings.
Generation Z started to find ways to make ghosting a more acceptable form of communication and rejection. In reality, it’s just a way to prevent and hide yourself from confrontation. If you cannot handle a situation without attempting to hide or take accountability, it says a lot about your personal image.
Many people who get ghosted end up feeling very out-of-the-loop and depressed. They are never given closure. The person who hurt them is also never forced to take accountability or deal with the consequences they forced onto you because they couldn’t explain their emotions or feelings to you directly.
If you tend to ghost someone, even if it’s because of your personality or social and mental health, consider the consequences even if they won’t hurt you. Ghosting is almost never acceptable and anyone who has given into Gen Z’s latest social epidemic should consider the damages made and apologize.
Opinions expressed in The Nevada Sagebrush are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or its staff. Gabriel Kanae is a student at the University of Nevada studying journalism. They can be reached at gkanae@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.
