Why Ghosting Is Still Wreaking Havoc In Relationships In 2025

When Rita Chainani (31) started dating again after a long hiatus, she stepped gingerly into the game. Little did she know she’d walk into an emotional minefield that would make it tough to navigate even the everyday. “I had just come off a broken engagement and was not looking for love or anything,” she tells us. “A friend got me onto an app and soon I met this nice guy who came across as so polite. We hit it off and got talking almost every other night. Then, after a month or so, he just disappeared. Just like that. I got no calls or messages and actually got worried about him. I then heard from a common friend that he was fine and it hit me – he had shut me off. I can’t explain how I felt – wondering if it was me that made him just run away or whether it was my mistake to even try and date in the first place.”

If this has hit home and you find yourself in a similar predicament as her, you’re not alone. Ghosting is actually one of the most common yet harsh practices that still exists, and in it's most unedited form – it can be one of the cruellest ways to treat anyone in any relationship. It’s ironical that in an age when 24x7 communication has shrunk distance and time zones, this tool is conveniently used to shunt anyone out of your life, at will, sans paying heed to the consequences. But consequences it has. And the most disastrous of them. 

Fear, Self-doubt, Overthinking: What It Leads To

We’ve seen ghosting play out on screen – on TV and in films and it also makes for the premise in several books – pointing out what people go through when they’re treated this way. Elaborating on this, Renuka Gandhi, psychologist, says, “Ghosting creates abandonment in people, which in turn creates trauma. People ghost as that is the easy way out and the ones who are ghosted are left looking for closure. Because the person has ghosted you, you don’t have answers and you don’t know how to get in touch, so you try desperate means of getting in touch through social media, creating fake accounts, asking people around who are closer to that person and by going through that whole activity, you are in turn, going through self-harm. You’re creating self-doubt where you keep on wondering that something’s not right with me.” 

I think ghosting is one-sided and being very selfish and insensitive towards the other person. It leads to a chain of overthinking, of hypothetical situations and it leads to self-loathing, blaming others and feeling like a victim, which definitely will affect an individual’s personal life, their work and other relationships-parental, friendships, with colleagues. etc

She further cautions: “It leads to a chain of overthinking, of hypothetical situations and it leads to self-loathing, blaming others and feeling like a victim, which definitely will affect an individual’s personal life, their work and other relationships-parental, friendships, even with colleagues etc. They keep thinking, ‘What if this person ghosts me?’ They don’t want to go through it again and their guard is always up, they don’t want to freely live a good life. If I’m ghosting someone, as I’ve made the decision to discontinue the friendship or relationship and I’m running away from taking responsibility of my thoughts, my actions. Also, I’m fearful as I have made the decision, but what if the other person convinces me to continue the relationship and I don’t want to be convinced. I think ghosting is one-sided and being very selfish and insensitive towards the other person.”

So, can this be one of the most cruel things to go through? She adds, “Definitely, but it depends on the stage of the relationship. In the initial stages, it affects less but later, if it’s a long-distance relationship, even if it’s a few months on a dating app, it affects the person’s self-image and then their self-worth. Unfortunately, with today’s generation and the times we are living in, ghosting has become normalised. Please don’t nomalise it. For what reason should you ghost? Have responsibility, be confident to tell the person, ‘Guess what? It’s not working; I want to part ways.” 

Why It’s So Relevant Today

So many people are afraid to dip their feet into the dating pool on account of this. Arti Shroff, psychologist, shares, “Ghosting in romantic relationships is definitely on the rise. It’s about abruptly cutting off with somebody without any reason or explanation. Sometimes a person feels things are going really well and getting acquainted and the next minute, the opposite person completely disappears on them. In my view, it’s complete disregard of the person, it’s a very de-humanising and disrespectful experience. I would attribute people a lot of social media and dating apps where they find a plethora of people. It’s also not face to face. If someone sends you a message, it’s easy to block them or leave then on unread or unfollow them. You tend to feel that I’m not responsible for anyone, but you are.” She goes to share how it makes a person feel rejected and increases social anxiety. “I’ve seen it create confusion, anger, self-doubt and can lead to depression, too.” 

WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE GHOSTED
As ghosting continues to rear its ugly head in the present day, we turn to a solution. What happens when you go through this? Psychologist Punit Tank shares a few pointers out to help:

• Always reach out to someone and allow yourself to feel hurt and to cry it out. Speak to a friend or another confidante who will hear you out. 
• The wisest thing to do is to allow lesser thoughts of that person who has chosen to be out of your sight and life. Remember, you can never control anyone’s choices and situations and let yourself let go. Take up a creative activity that will help you.
• To perceive ghosting as good riddance because the one who has ghosted you has strongly conveyed that they are cowardly and lack the confidence to confront you with their issue or what they perceive you as.
• Because someone has ghosted you and removed you from their life without an explanation, you will feel a lack of self-worth. But take this time as an opportunity to better yourself and thank the person who has ghosted you, because you will never be happy with someone who has shown strong evidence that they won’t treat you right in time to come.
• Absorb being ghosted as a lesson learnt. It is an opportunity to live out the wisdom in you that past is always dead and cannot be mended or changed, it is a perfect situation to gather yourself and move on. This is an opportunity to feel immense gratitude and let go of what is not meant for you, which will help you build resilience. 

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Modern Love: Why Is Dating So Intimidating?