Ghosting Isn’t New — Guys Just Ditched You Differently Back In The Day

Ghosting Isn’t New — Guys Just Ditched You Differently Back In The Day ©iStock/MajaMitrovic

If there’s one thing that you could change about dating, it’d probably be ghosting. The fact that guys love to ignore you post-date (or even when you’ve been dating for several months) and don’t think they ever owe you a legit explanation is so laughable it’s become pathetic. But it’s not actually anything new. It’s actually been around forever, just in different forms. Here are all the ways you got ghosted before the existence of iPhones:

  1. You were stood up. Let’s face it, ghosting is totally a walk in the park compared to being stood up. Since you can spot a Tinder date at a bar from a mile away, it’s super obvious when you’re sitting there alone, waiting for a guy that’s never going to show up. Remember that the next time you’re crying over being ghosted. Random strangers aren’t going to witness your pain and utter humiliation.
  2. You got ignored at a party. You had a crush on your college roomie’s boyfriend’s best friend or that cute guy in your English class. But then he totally ignored you at a party — you said hi and he looked right through you and walked right by. Ouch. Doesn’t seem so bad now to get ignored though your phone, does it?
  3. Your date didn’t call you the next day. Or ever again. Remember the whole “wait three days before calling” rule? Yeah, in your pre-iPhone dating life, guys never called when they said they would. You were totally ghosted, just in a different way.
  4. You were rejected in person. Had the guts to ask that guy out that you were in love with back in college? He straight-up told you no. Getting rejected face-to-face is always going to be a million times more hurtful and awkward than staring at an empty phone screen.
  5. Your MSN messages weren’t answered. Talk about a throwback. Remember MSN? You tried to strike up so many online chats with the object of  your affection. Sometimes he would say “hey” back then never say anything else, but for the most part, he never even answered. That was 100 percent ghosting.
  6. Your friend did the dirty work for you. Remember when you had to go through a friend when you liked a guy? You were part of the same social circle and way too shy to do it yourself. So your BFF would ask your crush how he felt, and he would say he didn’t see you that way. Would you really want to go through that embarrassment again? Probably not.
  7. You flirted with a guy and then his girlfriend showed up.Ugh, this was literally the worst. Your interest was super obvious and, again, you were totally rejected in real time, right to your face.     So whenever you think that ghosting sucks, remember all the ways you were ghosted before iPhones were invented and you’ll feel better ASAP.
Aya Tsintziras is a freelance lifestyle writer and editor from Toronto, Canada. In addition to writing about dating and relationships for Bolde, she also writes about movies, TV, and video games for ScreenRant and GameRant. She has a Political Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Journalism from Ryerson University. You can find her on Twitter @ayatsintziras and on Instagram @aya.tsintziras.
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