Ghosting as a technologically assisted exit strategy on mobile dating apps

Abstract

This article examines the practice of “ghosting” on mobile dating apps. In the context of such apps, ghosting is the practice of unilaterally ending an interaction without explanation and avoiding any further communication with the potential partner. Findings from the qualitative analysis presented in this article are based on interviews with 26 dating app users from Ljubljana, Slovenia, and reveal that the use of the ghosting strategy on dating apps, even in the earliest stages of interaction between potential partners, enables the normalization of this strategy. This article examines ghosting as an uncertain practice enabled by the gamified nature of dating apps. It also explores how ghosting establishes a sense of control in the uncertain, gamified, and laborious environment of dating apps. Ghosting is, therefore, a practice that enables relegating the emotionally challenging workload of terminating a relationship or interaction to technology. Overall, by situating this study within a broader nexus between scholarship on media studies and dating apps, the results offer a new understanding of the connection between contemporary dating practices and the sociotechnical mechanisms enabling them.