In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, a few words have been invented and reinvented. We witnessed the birth of “fuckboy” and the adoption of a new meaning for “ghosting.” Kids these days and their millennial lingo, SMH.
While fuckboy has now officially died, ghosting is still alive and kicking. Ghosting (also known as the “slow fade”) is when the person you think you’re dating suddenly disappears from your life with no explanation. No “sorry, I don’t think this is going to work out,” text, no courtesy call, no nothing. They just ditch you.
Like any trend, ghosting is on its way out and haunting is here to take its place, and it’s far, far worse than just cutting off all contact for no reason. Business Insider describes haunting as someone who cut off all direct contact with you, but still interacts with you through social media. They don’t slide in your DM’s or message you on Facebook, but they do still like your Instagram posts and view your stories on Snapchat.
At least with ghosting you know what the person’s intentions are. They didn’t want to be with you, plain and simple. It still hurts, but at least it’s honest and allows you to fully cut your losses and move on.
With haunting, that person is still creeping on you, and you have no fucking clue what that means. Does he still like you? Does this mean he’s not completely over you? Is he keeping tabs on you? Did he really like that Instagram or was it a passive-aggressive like? You have no idea.
Haunting is worse because it sends mixed signals. It allows you to wonder about the person, what he’s up to, if he still thinks about you and if there could ever be a chance of you two becoming an item again. What’s worse is that haunting and ghosting is essentially the same thing: someone cut you off completely. They left you in the dark, alone, unsure of what you did wrong or what happened. The difference is that haunting allows you to ask yourself questions you would’ve never even considered had he not engaged with you on social media, and maybe even reconsider the fact that this person is not a complete piece of shit for just ditching you, all because they liked your funny tweet.
“Haunters” know what they’re doing, and they want you to be confused. They want you to leave your feelings open and unsure so that they can slither back into your life easier when the time is right, or when they get bored.
Don’t get it twisted: haunters and ghosters are both cowards. They both don’t have the confidence or courage to directly end things. Haunters are just slimy cowards, and should be avoided at all costs. .
[via Business Insider]
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Cristina Montemayor
Cristina is a Grandex Writer and Content Manager. She was an intern for over two years before she graduated a semester early to write about college full time, which makes absolutely no sense. She regretfully considers herself a Carrie, but is first and foremost a Rory. She tends to draw strong reactions from people. They are occasionally positive. You can find her in a bar as you're bending down to tie your shoes, drinking Dos XX and drunk crying to Elton John. Email her: cristina@grandex.co (not .com).
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