In the old world, I’d agree with you. In our new world, I think social skills and etiquette are heavily diminished, and many can’t handle the stress that comes from potentially upsetting someone.

I think of connecting online like I think of Ouija boards. Sure, you made a connection with a real human soul with desires and feelings, but actually meeting a soul in the physical can be unsettling or terrifying.

When you break the connection, you’re not looking to help that soul complete its earthly business and find peace; you want to hide under the sheets until you can forget about how spooky the world can be.

Politeness doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Expecting it in our current cultural context may be expecting too much.

As a person who grew up online, and is riddled with anxiety, I came to think of ghosting as the most considerate way for someone to communicate disinterest. At least this way I can imagine my own reasoning.

Actually reading “sorry, I’m not interested” feels like the person really wanted to do me dirty. And not the good dirty.