'Ghostlighting' Is The Cruel New Dating Trend That Makes You Question What's Real
In 2023, the dating scene feels like an uphill battle.
Putting in too much effort can make you come off as desperate for love, and being nonchalant can make you appear cold and distant. And some could argue that the lines of communication between dating prospects aren’t just blurred, they’re obliterated by the fear of rejection and lack of clarity. Still, when things fizzle out, there tends to be a mutual understanding of providing the other party with at least the slightest bit of insight into why things won’t be moving forward.
But when that doesn’t occur, one behavior that’s easy to fall back into is that of ghosting.
As many of us have come to learn, ghosting has become a common communication default in modern dating. It’s that sudden and complete end to communication and contact with someone, typically in a romantic relationship, without any explanation or prior notice. To be “ghosted” is to be cut off from texts, calls, and FaceTime calls so abruptly that it’s as if the person pulled a full disappearing act on you.
And let’s be clear: no one likes the feeling.
Ghosting hurts. It’s disorienting and confusing, and it leaves the person who was ghosted with unanswered questions that can lead to feelings of rejection and frustration. And let’s not forget, it’s sort of an immature way of ending a relationship in an effort to avoid confrontation. But what’s worse is when the “ghoster” acts as if it never happened in the first place. And that’s when we have a ghostlighting situation on our hands.
What Is Ghostlighting?
The term “ghostlighting” is just as the name suggests, it’s the melding of ghosting and gaslighting — the act of making someone doubt their own reality — that could send even God’s strongest of soldiers into a mental tailspin. It’s when someone vanishes out of your life for an extended period of time, only to return as if it never happened; no explanation or apologies, just a casual, “Hey, how’s it going?”
You’re probably wondering how someone could even have the capacity to do both gaslighting and ghosting to a person, and well, the reasons can vary:
Communication Skills Are Lacking:
If you’re being ghostlighted, you’re dealing with someone who may be conflict-avoidant. When someone ghosts you, there’s a high chance that they’re avoiding a difficult or uncomfortable conversation, or they may find it challenging to express their feelings, so they choose to disappear instead.
Once their feelings have been processed, days or even weeks later, they could turn up and not think it’s worth rehashing.
They’re Spinning the Block:
Easily the worst reason of all is a ghostlighter could be trying to see if they can spin the block on you or give you another try. When someone ghostlights you and doesn’t care to mention the reason for their disappearance or apologize for the impact it may have caused, it’s a clear sign of emotional manipulation.
In this case, they could have ghosted you to focus on their “number one” choice, and after things didn’t work out, they’re coming back around to see if there’s still an opportunity to “retry” things with you. And if that happens to be the case: run.
Life Happened:
Sometimes life’s circumstances can truly get the best of us, and when that happens, we can either face it or run in the complete opposite direction.
Whether they were feeling the pressure from their job, family issues arose, or they hit a bout of depression and didn’t know how to share the news, the needs of their personal life might have taken precedence over that of their romantic responsibilities.
While it sucks to feel like an afterthought in someone’s list of priorities, try your best not to take it personally — after all, it wasn’t you, it was life.
How To Move Forward From Being Ghostlighted
Whatever the case and cause of your ghostlighing experience may be, it’s important to take time to reflect on how it made you feel without internalizing it as a character flaw on your end. Sometimes, a potential match may not work out, but no one deserves to be left wondering “why” or made to believe it never happened in the first place.
When you’ve been ghostlighted, and that person re-enters your life, pause and reflect about how you’d like to respond, stand in your truth, and don’t allow them to fuel any more new feelings of confusion. You know what’s real, and it’s up to you whether you cut them off completely or just need to set proper communication boundaries for what you will and won’t tolerate.
Whatever course of action you choose to take, just remember that no one gets to shape your reality but you.
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Featured image by Delmaine Donson/Getty Images
Aley Arion is a writer and digital storyteller from the South, currently living in sunny Los Angeles. Her site, yagirlaley.com, serves as a digital diary to document personal essays, cultural commentary, and her insights into the Black Millennial experience. Follow her at @yagirlaley on all platforms!
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images