"Ghosting, a commonly used term to describe someone ending a romantic relationship abruptly and without any further communication or explanation, has become a common way to end a relationship among younger people. As ghosting happens so frequently these days, more and more psychological studies investigating this phenomenon are published. In fact, so many studies on ghosting have been published that recently, a systematic review, e.g., a systematic integration of many studies on ghosting, has been published ( Morales and co-workers, 2025)."
"The analysis of studies on ghosting showed that there are many reasons why people ghost, most commonly to protect themselves emotionally, to avoid conflicts, because they were disinterested, and because of poor communication with the other person. Interestingly, these situations do not only occur in romantic relationships, but also in many other types of relationships. In line with this thinking, the concept of ghosting has also been applied to various types of social relationships outside of dating."
Ghosting frequently ends romantic relationships among younger people. Psychological investigations have expanded and identified common motives: self-protection, conflict avoidance, disinterest, and poor communication. Ghosting extends beyond dating into multiple non-romantic contexts. Prison ghosting occurs when expected prison visits do not happen, leaving absent-presence around incarcerated individuals. Friendship ghosting involves abrupt cessation of contact without explanation. Workplace ghosting includes colleagues or clients suddenly stopping communication. Cancer or illness ghosting describes withdrawal of support from people facing serious illness. Non-romantic ghosting produces social and emotional consequences and requires further empirical study to clarify prevalence, causes, and interventions.
Read at Psychology Today
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