By now, most of us are familiar with the concept of ghosting (and breadcrumbing, and orbiting, and all the various other terms used to describe the unique torture that is modern dating), either through personal experience or horror stories told by our single friends.
Ghosting can be a pretty sh*tty thing to do to someone. It often leaves the ghostee feeling confused and spending way too much mental bandwidth trying to decode why the person ghosted them. The ghoster, on the other hand, gets to peace out without any confrontation, conflict, or uncomfy-ness.
However, there are a few exceptions to the rule. In some instances, ghosting is okay—maybe even recommended.
We get into it below.
The green flags of ghosting:
1. If you’re concerned for your safety. If you feel like your emotional, physical, or mental safety is at risk, you do not owe anything to the person making you feel that way. Protect yourself.
2. When they don’t respect your boundaries. This includes things like continuing to send you messages when you’ve told them you’re not interested.
3. If something just doesn’t feel right. Trust your instincts. If they make you feel uneasy or if something feels off, it’s okay to cut off contact with no explanation.
4. Three words: unsolicited dick pics. Consent is key, and that’s that on that.
5. If you feel like they are trying to manipulate and/or control you. If they send you messages that in any way resemble Jonah Hill’s, please feel free to ghost.
6. If you think you’re being catfished. Need we say more?
7. If they’ve been inconsistent with their communication. If the conversation seems like it’s not going anywhere, like an IRL date, save yourself the time and energy.
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