Angelika Koch, relationship expert, says this behavior is not the healthy way to end a friendship

Breaking up with someone can be hard to do, but even more so if it’s ending a friendship. We generally feel a stronger bond with our platonic friends than we do with romantic partners and sometimes even blood family.

But how does one go about calling it quits on a friendship? More and more people are opting out of having an awkward conversation and simply stopping all communications when they decide that the bonds of a friendship are no longer there.

Known as ‘ghosting’, people feel that this method is the gentle way of doing things, but according to relationships and breakup expert at LGBTQ+ dating app Taimi, Angelika Koch, it’s not healthy.

Ghosting results in confusion and a lack of closure

Koch told the Huffington Post that there was a noticeable shift in ghosting after the covid-19 pandemic. She said that people became more “protective” because it “caused everyone to face their mortality.”

Ghosting seems like the sensible option for ending a friendship or a relationship as people “move through life trying to cause as little harm as possible,” explained Koch due to “a deep fear of hurting others.”

By avoiding a painful conversation, ghosting “feels like a gentle breakup,” said Koch. “Unfortunately, this can cause confusion and a lack of closure on the end of the friend who is being ghosted,” she concluded.

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