Many young adults today still want love and hope to build a serious connection. However, dating seems to be getting harder as conversations become more unpredictable and less clear.
A conversation may go smoothly for days. Two people talk well, feel comfortable texting, and may even start thinking about meeting in real life. Everything seems to be moving forward naturally.
Then suddenly, that person disappears.
Messages are no longer answered. The conversation stops without any explanation. You do not know what changed, and you are not sure whether you should send another message.
This experience is commonly known as ghosting, a concept that has become very familiar in modern dating, especially among younger generations who grew up with dating apps and social media.
Ghosting is no longer a rare experience. For many people, it has slowly become part of today’s dating culture, where conversations can begin very quickly but also end just as suddenly.
In this article, Clique83 explores what ghosting means, why ghosting has become more common in modern dating, and why more young adults are finding it harder to build clear and stable connections than before.
What Is Ghosting?
Ghosting is when someone suddenly cuts off communication without giving any explanation in an ongoing conversation or relationship.
In dating, ghosting often happens after a period of texting, getting to know each other, or even after meeting in real life. Everything may seem fairly normal, but one person suddenly stops replying, loses contact, or disappears from the conversation without explaining what changed.
That is what makes ghosting such an uncomfortable experience for many people. The confusing feeling does not always come from the connection ending. It often comes from the fact that everything ends too suddenly and without clarity.
Common signs of ghosting include:
Someone suddenly stops replying even though both people were talking regularly before.
They still watch your stories or appear online but no longer respond to the conversation.
They disappear from all communication platforms without explaining why.
They keep delaying plans to meet, then gradually lose contact completely.
The conversation suddenly goes cold even though it felt positive before.
You have met in real life, but afterward they disappear without saying how they feel or whether they want to continue the connection.
The term “ghosting” became widely popular around 2015, along with the rise of dating apps and online communication platforms. As starting a conversation became easier, many connections also began happening faster and ending faster than before.
Ghosting Is Not Just “Missing Messages”
Many people think ghosting simply means a conversation gets interrupted or someone stops replying. However, for the person left behind, the feeling is often much more complicated.
What makes ghosting painful is that everything ends too suddenly and without any explanation. When people do not understand what happened, they often start asking themselves many questions.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Was I too forward?”
“Was the other person ever serious from the beginning?”
“Was I not interesting enough for them to continue?”
At Clique83, we believe this uncertainty is what makes ghosting leave a longer emotional impact. People usually need a certain level of clarity to understand and close a connection. When a conversation or relationship suddenly disappears without explanation, the mind often tries to fill that empty space with thoughts, assumptions, and overthinking.
That is why many people feel ghosting is not just “missing messages.” It feels like an ending that never really ended.
A study from the University of Brighton, which surveyed 544 adults aged 18 to 40 in the United Kingdom, also found that ghosting is linked to negative effects on mental health, especially feelings of paranoia, anxiety, doubt, and long-lasting insecurity. The study suggests that repeatedly experiencing unclear connections or sudden communication cutoffs can affect emotional safety and trust in relationships.
More importantly, the study also shows that ghosting sometimes appears as a way to avoid conflict or protect one’s own emotions. This means ghosting does not always come from carelessness. Sometimes, it reflects how many people today lack the emotional skills to handle difficult conversations and end relationships more clearly in dating.
Why Is Ghosting Becoming More Common In Today’s Dating Culture?
One of the biggest reasons ghosting is becoming more common is the way people connect in the online era.
Dating apps and social media make it easier than ever to start a conversation. With a few swipes or one opening message, two strangers can quickly begin getting to know each other. However, that fast-paced connection environment also makes many relationships less clear and easier to disappear from.
When everything happens mostly through a screen, many people feel less pressure to take responsibility in communication. In real life, suddenly disappearing from a relationship usually feels quite uncomfortable. But on dating apps or social media, simply not replying can feel like the “easier” option compared with clearly expressing feelings or ending the conversation directly.
According to statistics from Thriving Center of Psychology, up to 84% of Gen Z and Millennials said they had been ghosted at least once. More notably, most survey participants also admitted that ghosting made them feel confused, disappointed, hurt, or less trusting in dating.
Still, almost three quarters of participants said ghosting could be “acceptable in certain situations,” and around two thirds admitted they had ghosted someone else before.
Some psychologists believe ghosting does not always come from being careless. In many cases, the person who ghosts may:
Want to avoid confrontation.
Not know how to reject someone gently.
Feel afraid of hurting the other person.
Feel overwhelmed by the emotional pressure of modern dating.
Ghosting And Dating Apps: When Everyone Has Too Many Options
Another factor that makes ghosting more common is the “culture of endless options” on dating apps today.
Dating apps create an environment where people always feel there are “more options out there.” When users are constantly exposed to new profiles and new conversations, many connections stop before they have enough time to grow deeper. This also makes ghosting more common in today’s talking stages and situationships.
A recent Fast Company article also shows that Gen Z is gradually losing trust in traditional dating apps. Many people feel that constant swiping, short-term conversations, and unstable connections make dating more exhausting instead of helping them connect more easily.
According to data from mobile app analytics company AppsFlyer cited by Fast Company, up to 65% of dating apps downloaded in 2024 were deleted after only one month of use. In 2025, that number increased to 69%.
This partly shows that more young adults are beginning to feel that dating apps no longer create the kind of connection they expected. Instead of feeling that dating opportunities are easier to expand, many people are experiencing dating fatigue, emotional burnout, and overwhelm from shallow conversations.
The article also mentions that more young adults are now “ghosting dating apps.” In other words, they are not only ghosting other people, but also gradually leaving dating apps because they feel drained by the current way of connecting.
At Clique83, we think this clearly reflects a shift in the way young adults are dating today. Many people still want a serious relationship and real emotions, but at the same time, they find it harder to maintain energy for conversations that stay on a screen for too long.
When every connection can begin so quickly, many people also find it harder to know who is truly serious, who is only “talking for fun,” or whether the current conversation will still exist a few days later.
That is why more people are starting to prioritize clearer connections and earlier real-life meetings instead of only extending conversations through dating apps.
Young Vietnamese People Are Talking More About Ghosting Too
A few years ago, ghosting was still a relatively new concept in Vietnam. Today, the topic appears more often on TikTok, Threads, love podcasts, and dating communities among young people.
It is not hard to come across stories like:
“We were talking normally, then they disappeared.”
“They saw the message but never replied.”
“We texted for weeks but never met.”
“Everything seemed fine, then they suddenly lost contact.”
Ghosting has slowly become an experience that many young Vietnamese people have faced at least once while dating.
According to Sinh Vien Viet Nam newspaper, ghosting is now seen as one of the common “fears” of Gen Z in love. Many young people share that being ghosted often leaves them feeling disappointed, less confident, and confused because they do not know what truly happened in the relationship.
The article also shows that after repeatedly experiencing unclear connections, many young Vietnamese people become more cautious in dating. Some find it harder to open up to new conversations, while others become less patient with conversations that keep going without any clear direction.
This also explains why many young Vietnamese people now prefer clearer connections, more genuine emotions, and earlier opportunities to meet in real life instead of only extending conversations through a screen.
So, How Can You Step Out Of The Ghosting Cycle?
Ghosting can make many people feel emotionally drained by dating, especially when they repeatedly go through unclear conversations or connections that disappear too suddenly.
However, being ghosted often does not mean you are “not interesting enough” or unable to build a serious relationship. In many cases, ghosting says more about the way young adults are dating today than about one person’s value.
That is why more people are starting to change the way they connect with new people instead of continuing to repeat long talking stages with no clear direction.
One of the clearest changes is that many people no longer want to text for too long before meeting. Instead, offline dating and real-life meetups are gaining more attention, especially among those who feel tired of constantly building connections through a screen.
Meeting sooner in real life does not guarantee that two people will be compatible. However, it often helps both people feel each other’s communication style, level of seriousness, and real-life connection more clearly than texting for too long.
Over time, factors such as clear communication, emotional safety, and the quality of real interaction usually become much more important than simply matching with many people.
Join Clique83 To Find A More Genuine Way To Connect
Clique83 understands that what makes many people tired of dating today is often the feeling that connections are becoming harder to predict, less clear, and easier to lose too quickly.
That is why Clique83’s experiences are designed to give people more opportunities to talk, meet, and feel real-life connection instead of only extending conversations through a screen.
Currently, Clique83 offers two main connection formats:
1:1 Coffee Date — A Match Is Meant To Become A Meeting
A 1:1 Coffee Date is suitable for people who want a more focused, private, and natural conversation in real life.
Unlike texting for too long on dating apps without knowing whether both people are truly compatible, Coffee Date at Clique83 is built around the mindset that a match is meant to become a meeting. What matters is not matching with as many people as possible, but creating the chance for two people to actually meet, talk, and feel each other in real life.
Many people choose Coffee Date because they:
Want to avoid long talking stages.
Want to feel real-life connection.
Do not enjoy connections that revolve only around texting.
Want a clearer dating experience.
What makes Coffee Date special is that everything begins with a real meeting. When two people have the chance to sit down and talk face to face, they can often sense each other’s personality, energy, and connection rhythm more clearly than they could after weeks of texting.
Sometimes, even a short coffee meeting can help two people understand each other more than long conversations through a phone screen.
Thu Vi Yeu — A Softer And More Natural Mixer Dating Experience
Alongside the 1:1 Coffee Date, Thu Vi Yeu is a mixer dating experience where people have the chance to meet and talk with several new connections in the same event.
Thu Vi Yeu is not designed like a high-pressure speed dating event or a format that forces everyone to form couples during the program. Instead, Clique83 focuses on a comfortable atmosphere, natural conversations, and the feeling of being yourself when meeting new people.
Many people join Thu Vi Yeu because they:
Want to expand their real-life social circle.
Want to meet different types of people.
Enjoy a social atmosphere without too much pressure.
During a Thu Vi Yeu event, participants have the chance to talk with different people through activities designed to make starting conversations and interacting easier. Instead of sitting across from someone and struggling to think of what to say next, conversations often flow more naturally through prepared topics, games, or connection activities.
This helps many people feel more comfortable starting conversations, especially if they are not used to dating events or often feel shy about approaching strangers.
At the end of the program, each participant chooses up to three people they would like to continue getting to know. If two people choose each other, Clique83 helps open a connection after the event so both have another chance to keep talking and meeting in real life.
Many Thu Vi Yeu participants share that what they enjoy most is not necessarily finding the right person that evening, but having the chance to meet new people, join interesting conversations, and step out of the loop of connecting only through a screen.
Whether it is a 1:1 Coffee Date or Thu Vi Yeu, what Clique83 aims to create is more opportunities for people to connect in real life, where conversations can begin naturally and relationships have the chance to grow from genuine interactions.
FAQs
Is Ghosting A Sign That The Other Person Is Not Serious?
Not always. Some people ghost because they lack emotional communication skills, avoid confrontation, or do not know how to end a connection clearly. However, ghosting often still shows that the person is not ready for a more stable and clear form of connection.
What Is The Difference Between Ghosting And Breadcrumbing?
Ghosting is when someone disappears completely and suddenly cuts off communication. Breadcrumbing, on the other hand, is when someone keeps minimal contact just enough to keep the other person hoping. For example, they may occasionally like a story, send a short message, or reappear after a long time without truly being serious about building a relationship.
Should I Keep Texting Someone Who Ghosted Me?
This depends on the situation. However, if someone repeatedly disappears, replies unclearly, or only comes back when it is convenient for them, trying to keep the conversation going often makes the person left behind feel more emotionally tired.
Can A 1:1 Coffee Date Help Reduce The Feeling Of Ghosting?
No dating format can guarantee that ghosting will never happen. However, many people choose 1:1 Coffee Dates because this format is built around the idea that a match should become a meeting, instead of extending weeks of texting without knowing whether both people truly want to get to know each other.
Having the chance to meet and talk in real life sooner often helps people understand each other more clearly, including personality, communication style, level of seriousness, and the feeling of being around each other. These are things that are often hard to fully sense through text alone.
For many people, dating fatigue does not only come from being ghosted. It also comes from long conversations where no one knows where the connection is going. A real-life meeting can sometimes make things clearer, whether the result is continuing to get to know each other or stopping there.
Although no experience can guarantee that every connection will become a long-term relationship, a 1:1 Coffee Date still creates the chance for two people to truly meet, talk, and feel each other in real life instead of staying only in a screen-based conversation.