Ghosting and closure
“Ghosting” is the act of ending a relationship without offering a clear explanation. As online dating and dating apps proliferate, so does ghosting, yet we know little about why people do it or its effects. In this study researchers wanted to see what individual differences might influence a person’s use of ghosting. To study this they asked subjects to reflect on a past relationship where they were either ghosted or directly rejected. Subjects also answered questions to establish their psychological needs. Unsurprisingly, being ghosted was a negative experience for all subjects. Equally, foreseeable was that people with a high need for closure were hardest hit by ghosting. What was unpredictable was that people with high needs for closure were slightly more likely to use ghosting to end a…
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WellBeing (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 204