"It's Halloween season, and while everyone's busy carving pumpkins and picking out costumes, I'm thinking about the most terrifying ghost story I know-the one where my college best friend vanished into thin air. No warning. No explanation. Just poof- gone. Not the fun, sheet-over-the-head kind of ghost, but the modern kind: blocked, unfriended, and unreachable. Welcome to ghosting, friendship edition. And as many reading this might know, it can be scarier than any haunted house."
"A 2023 study published in Telematics and Informatics found that people who ghosted friends-not intimate partners-experienced increased depressive tendencies four months later. Let that sink in. The ghoster feels worse, not just the ghostee. It's like emotional karma with a four-month processing time. But here's the kicker: The same research found that people with higher self-esteem were more likely to ghost their friends. Why? Because they apparently believed they could easily replace us."
Nearly half of people report being ghosted by a friend, and such disappearances can cause pain that the brain processes similarly to physical pain. Friend ghosting can be more difficult to cope with than dating ghosting. A 2023 Telematics and Informatics study found that people who ghosted friends, rather than intimate partners, experienced increased depressive tendencies four months later. Higher self-esteem correlated with a greater likelihood of ghosting friends, possibly due to beliefs about easy replacement. Long-term friendships benefit from honest conversations rather than silent disappearances. Sudden blocking and unfriending can sever close bonds without warning.
Read at Psychology Today
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