Researchers Find Cultural Differences in How People View and Use Ghosting

Ghosting has become a common way to end relationships in the digital age, but a new international study suggests that attitudes toward the behavior differ dramatically depending on where people live. While most adults recognize ghosting, researchers found that how acceptable it seems—and how often people actually do it—varies considerably across cultures and relationship types.

The findings, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, come from one of the largest cross-cultural investigations of ghosting to date. Led by psychologists Gili Freedman and Darcey Powell, the research compared attitudes, intentions, and real-life experiences across 12 countries spanning North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.

How the researchers conducted the study

The project consisted of two large surveys.

The first included 885 adults aged 18 to 29 from Canada, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United States. Participants read a standard definition of ghosting before rating how acceptable they considered it, how likely they would be to ghost someone in the future, and whether they had ever ghosted—or been ghosted by—a friend or romantic partner.

Participants rated acceptability on a seven-point scale and estimated the likelihood they would ghost someone using a scale from 0 to 100 percent. Researchers also accounted for age and gender while examining the results. Because terminology differs across countries, participants were also asked whether they recognized the term "ghosting" or used local alternatives, such as "mizing" in South Africa.

The second survey expanded the research to 1,741 adults with an average age of 31 from Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, and Ukraine. Questionnaires were translated into local languages while measuring the same factors: familiarity with ghosting, attitudes toward the behavior, intentions to use it, and previous experiences.

Most people recognize ghosting—even if they call it something else

Across the first group of countries, awareness of ghosting was remarkably high. Around 96 percent of participants recognized the behavior, even when they used different local expressions rather than the English word itself.

Recognition remained widespread in the second survey as well, although familiarity with the specific term "ghosting" dropped to roughly 75 percent. More than one-third of participants in Brazil and Ukraine said they had never heard the word before, yet they immediately understood the concept once researchers described the behavior.

Acceptance differs across cultures

The study revealed substantial differences in how acceptable ghosting was considered.

In the first survey, respondents from Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa viewed ghosting as significantly more acceptable than participants from Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The findings suggest that ending communication without explanation may be regarded as a more acceptable relationship strategy in some African cultural contexts.

The second survey produced similar variation. Participants from Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Ukraine generally expressed greater acceptance of ghosting than respondents from Brazil and the Philippines.

The researchers believe these differences likely reflect broader cultural values, including attitudes toward conflict, communication styles, social harmony, and personal autonomy. In societies where people frequently form and leave social relationships—a concept known as high relational mobility—ghosting may be viewed as less socially problematic.

People think differently about friendships and romance

Relationship type also influenced attitudes.

Across both studies, participants consistently reported being more willing to ghost someone in a short-term relationship than in a long-term one. In the first survey, people estimated about a 52 percent likelihood of ghosting in casual relationships, compared with roughly 20 percent for long-term partnerships. The second study showed a similar pattern, with average intentions of 49 percent versus 31 percent.

Participants also tended to say they were more willing to ghost friends than romantic partners. This difference was especially noticeable among respondents from Canada and Mexico, suggesting friendships may sometimes be viewed as easier to end without explanation than romantic relationships.

Intentions and behavior do not always match

Although attitudes predicted some behavior, the relationship was far from straightforward.

In the first study, Kenyan participants reported the highest rates of ghosting romantic partners, with about 54 percent saying they had done so, compared with roughly 30 percent of participants in the United States. In both Canada and the United States, respondents reported ghosting friends more frequently than romantic partners.

The second study revealed several unexpected contrasts.

Participants from India expressed relatively high acceptance of ghosting but reported some of the lowest rates of actually ghosting romantic partners, with only around 16 percent saying they had done so.

Brazil showed the opposite pattern. Brazilian participants generally considered ghosting less acceptable and expressed relatively low intentions to do it in the future. Nevertheless, approximately 53 percent reported having ghosted friends at some point, illustrating that attitudes and real-world behavior do not always align.

Kenya again stood out, with participants reporting the highest intentions to ghost in future relationships. Brazilians reported the lowest future intentions despite their relatively high history of ghosting friendships.

Limitations and future research

The researchers caution against interpreting the findings as fixed cultural characteristics. Countries contain enormous cultural diversity, and personal values often differ as much within nations as between them.

Because participants were recruited through online research platforms, the samples may overrepresent younger, more educated, and urban populations. More nationally representative studies will be needed to determine whether the same patterns apply across entire countries.

The authors also note that translating relationship terminology across multiple languages may subtly influence how participants interpret questions. Future research could directly examine factors such as collectivism, individualism, communication style, and relational mobility to better explain why attitudes toward ghosting vary around the world.

Despite these limitations, the study provides one of the most comprehensive international examinations of ghosting so far. The findings suggest that while disappearing without explanation has become a globally recognized way of ending relationships, whether people view it as acceptable—or choose to do it themselves—depends heavily on cultural and social context.

Article prepared by Victoria Caldwell.