Dating is getting pretty spooky.
Ex-boyfriends and girlfriends are no longer just ghosting — abruptly cutting off communication without warning of a breakup. Now, they’re “haunting,” a term that’s been coined to refer to having an ex still keep close tabs on your social media after they’ve ghosted you.Some find the practice creepy, others get a thrill from it.
For Liz, a 25-year-old entrepreneur who declined to give her last name for professional reasons, it’s the latter. She’s caught her exes viewing her Instagram and Snapchat stories, and says it’s a nice ego boost.“I love it — it’s so great because I love to know that they still think about me,” says Liz.But on occasion, these online “forget-me-nots” have messed with her head.
Out of nowhere, she’s received late-night LinkedIn and Venmo requests from exes she hasn’t been in contact with for a long time.“Guys are crazy,” she says. “I made it clear to them that I don’t want to be in touch.”“Social media makes relationships feel like nothing is ever over or final,” she says. Even after a breakup, “you are able to be in someone else’s world and they’re able to be in yours.”
Ex-boyfriends and girlfriends are no longer just ghosting — abruptly cutting off communication without warning of a breakup. Now, they’re “haunting,” a term that’s been coined to refer to having an ex still keep close tabs on your social media after they’ve ghosted you.Some find the practice creepy, others get a thrill from it.
For Liz, a 25-year-old entrepreneur who declined to give her last name for professional reasons, it’s the latter. She’s caught her exes viewing her Instagram and Snapchat stories, and says it’s a nice ego boost.“I love it — it’s so great because I love to know that they still think about me,” says Liz.But on occasion, these online “forget-me-nots” have messed with her head.
Out of nowhere, she’s received late-night LinkedIn and Venmo requests from exes she hasn’t been in contact with for a long time.“Guys are crazy,” she says. “I made it clear to them that I don’t want to be in touch.”“Social media makes relationships feel like nothing is ever over or final,” she says. Even after a breakup, “you are able to be in someone else’s world and they’re able to be in yours.”