Forget about waiting to see a Raj enter the life of Simran (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge; 1995); Gen Z operates so swiftly that the minute the train whistles, it takes to ‘ghosting’! This trend is more rampant now since campus has been virtual, and youngsters are engaging in online college romance. Thus more instances of ghosting — ignoring or leaving conversations, calls and messages unattended — are being experienced now than before.
“When you have a plan to meet someone for a date in the evening, and you stop replying to their messages and calls from the afternoon, you’ve ghosted the person,” says Aarushi Singh, a student of Daulat Ram College, adding, “The love life in college had shifted from real to reel when the pandemic hit. And most of us have still not met our special friends. Also, ghosting is the best means to avoid awkward situations or people. Some stop responding to calls and messages and ghost you to avoid unpleasant conversations around the relationship not working out. This is so rampant in campus life now as most interactions are virtual and lead to trust issues or instant decisions on yays or nays.”
It’s not that all college students enjoy rampant ghosting. “You can’t imagine how it feels when you think a friendship is going somewhere and suddenly you stop getting replies without any explanation; it just feels so wrong,” says Tejas Malhotra, a student of Sri Aurobindo College, and adds, “Social distancing norms have increased ghosting. But not everyone realises that it spoils the relationship and can have repercussions like one questioning one’s self worth and over thinking about what did they do to deserve this! It’s not good to turn relationships toxic and leave self esteem bruised. Ghosting isn’t a cool trend as it harms those facing it, especially at a young age.”
{{/usCountry}}It’s not that all college students enjoy rampant ghosting. “You can’t imagine how it feels when you think a friendship is going somewhere and suddenly you stop getting replies without any explanation; it just feels so wrong,” says Tejas Malhotra, a student of Sri Aurobindo College, and adds, “Social distancing norms have increased ghosting. But not everyone realises that it spoils the relationship and can have repercussions like one questioning one’s self worth and over thinking about what did they do to deserve this! It’s not good to turn relationships toxic and leave self esteem bruised. Ghosting isn’t a cool trend as it harms those facing it, especially at a young age.”
{{/usCountry}}There are, however, some youngsters who feel campuses going online has helped them ghost people easily, and reason that it’s much needed in certain situations. Aatika Choudhary, a student of Vivekananda College, says, “Laaton ke bhoot baaton se nahi mante, that’s why ghosting is a good option when one wants to get rid of creeps! It’s also a good defence mechanism to use against people who’ve hurt you in some or the other way. Although it’s mean, but it’s pleasurable to read messages and yet not reply! Ghosting mein jo aatma ko shaanti milti hai wo kisi ko block karne mein kahan. It’s time we accept modern solutions for modern relationship issues.”
Author tweets @FizzyBuddha
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