4 Other Ways We Can Be Ghosted
Ghosting is not limited to online dating – here are 4 other forms.
Posted September 7, 2025 | Reviewed by Kaja Perina
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 . Here are 4 types of ghosting that have nothing to do with dating.
Turns out being a convicted criminal is not the best thing for keeping social relationships alive. A study from 2017 entitled “ ‘It’s a horrible, horrible feeling’: ghosting and the layered geographies of absent–presence in the prison visiting room” investigated prison ghosting, e.g., the situation in which a prisoner expected or wanted a visit in the prison visiting room, but that visit did not happen ( Moran & Disney, 2017 ).
2. Friendship ghosting
One of the most common forms of non-romantic ghosting is friendship ghosting. A study from 2021 entitled “From Best Friends to Silent Ends: Exploring the Concepts of Ghosting in Non-Romantic Relationships.” Investigated this form of ghosting ( Yap and coworkers, 2021 ). Interestingly, the scientists found that friendship ghosting is even more common than romantic ghosting and happens quite frequently. Also, it is socially more accepted than romantic ghosting.
3. Workplace ghosting
While a lot of ghosting happens in the private context, ghosting also happens quite commonly in professional contexts. A recent study entitled “The behavioural trend of ghosting in the professional context – a scoping review on the empirical mapping of ghosting in vocational surroundings” ( Teichert, 2025 ) conducted an in-depth exploration of workplace ghosting. They found that ghosting was more common in companies than in academic contexts and actually posed a serious problem to organizational processes that need to be prevented to ensure smooth operations.
A very sad form of ghosting is cancer ghosting, e.g., the situation in which someone shares a cancer diagnosis with their friends and family, and they then proceed to ghost the cancer patient. A recent publication entitled “A new side effect of cancer?” ( Fitch, 2025 ) highlighted this growing issue, stating that 90% of cancer patients experienced at least one person ghosting them. Being cancer-ghosted leads to many negative emotions such as sadness, anger , confusion, disappointment, grief , and shame .
Facebook image: Zmaster/Shutterstock
Fitch M. (2025). A new side effect of cancer? Can Oncol Nurs J, 35(4):532.
Morales, A., Fuentes, E., & Fernández-Martínez, I. (2025). A systematic review of ghosting as a relationship dissolution method in emerging adults’ relationships. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, 57, 33–49.
Moran, D., & Disney, T. (2017). ‘It’s a horrible, horrible feeling’: ghosting and the layered geographies of absent–presence in the prison visiting room. Social & Cultural Geography, 20(5), 692–709.
Teichert, L. (2025). The behavioural trend of ghosting in the professional context – a scoping review on the empirical mapping of ghosting in vocational surroundings. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1).
Yap, M. A., Francisco, A. M. ., & Gopez, C. (2021). From Best Friends to Silent Ends: Exploring the Concepts of Ghosting in Non-Romantic Relationships. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research, 2(10), 943-950.
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Sebastian Ocklenburg, Ph.D., is a professor for research methods in psychology at the Department of Psychology at MSH Medical School in Hamburg, Germany. His research focuses on left-handedness and brain asymmetries.
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