The Illusion of Connection: Psychological Distress in Ghosting and Breadcrumbing

Digital communication has reshaped relational dynamics, with the ongoing trend of online dating terms like "ghosting" and "breadcrumbing" being normalized. This study examines the impact of ghosting and breadcrumbing on human psychology and how it has redefined the relational values. In order to study this, 70 respondents were selected from different ethnic backgrounds and ages, and it included both males and females. They were asked questions through a structured questionnaire, and to assess the impact, GBAS (Ghosting and Breadcrumbing Assessment Scale) was designed to comprehend and measure the impact. The study highlights the significant role of gender: males are more likely to ghost, whereas women are being ghosted as men treat avoidance as a coping mechanism to avoid conflicts. However, breadcrumbing shows less gender difference. Moreover, the study illustrates that 25% of the respondents experienced it more than twice; in contrast, breadcrumbing was experienced 28% twice in the past year and 26% more than twice. Only 18-24% of respondents never experienced either of them, which shows the frequency of encounters. The study also reveals the importance of social conditioning in this psychological behavior; both ghosting and breadcrumbing lead to many psychological issues like anxiety, mistrust, low self-esteem, and indecisiveness, and digital communication fosters these behaviors as digital platforms enable them to act conveniently and immediately.