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Hurt people hurt people: Studies show people who ‘ghost’ are worse off than their victims

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Cite

Wigle, R. (2026, October 17). Hurt people hurt people: Studies show people who ‘ghost’ are worse off than their victims. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/17/lifestyle/studies-show-people-who-ghost-are-worse-off-than-victims/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-17 · by Reda Wigle

Quick Summary

Researchers from Cambridge University and the University of California have found that people who "ghost" others often experience significant emotional distress themselves, including guilt and shame. The studies, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, reveal that ghosters frequently feel conflicted about their actions but underestimate how badly their victims are affected. The research suggests that even a brief message can reduce misunderstandings and alleviate the pain for both parties involved.
Written by AI on 2026-10-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A recent study by researchers from Cambridge and the University of California reveals that people who "ghost" others in relationships experience negative emotions such as guilt and shame. Contrary to popular belief, these individuals often feel worse than their victims. The research, involving three studies on lived experiences, imagined scenarios, and digital interactions, shows that ghosting leads to confusion, distress, and emotional turmoil for the person being ignored. According to Dr. Jennice Vilhauer in Psychology Today, ghosting creates ambiguity and uncertainty, leaving the victim unsure of how to react or interpret the situation. The study highlights that while ghosting may seem like an easy way out, it actually harms both parties involved.

Written for “Ghosting Linked To Poor Wellbeing” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Ghosting Linked To Poor Wellbeing
Health · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Health
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15208 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Reda Wigle
27 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Reda Wigle
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 27 articles by Reda Wigle →

Topics

Cambridge Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin Psychology Today the University of California

Subjects

Cambridge GPE · 1× Jennice Vilhauer PERSON · 1× Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ORG · 1× Psychology Today ORG · 1× Vilhauer PERSON · 1× the University of California ORG · 1×

Narrative

For the victim, ghosting often leads to confusion, distress, and a kind of emotional purgatory, as the person being ignored wonders whether the relationship is over, they did something to deserve their exile, or something catastrophic has happened to the person who has suddenly gone no-contact.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-17
🔮 Maybe they are just a little busy and will be calling you at any moment.

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

For the victim, ghosting often leads to confusion, distress, and a kind of emotional purgatory, as the person being ignored wonders whether the relationship is over, they did something to deserve their exile, or something catastrophic has happened to the person who has suddenly gone no-contact. asserted
who → lead → contact
In Psychology Today, Dr. Jennice Vilhauer writes that ghosting inhibits our ability to process. asserted
ghosting → write → ability
“Ghosting gives you no cue for how to react,” said Vilhauer. asserted
Vilhauer → give → cue
“It creates the ultimate scenario of ambiguity. asserted
It → create → ambiguity
What if they are hurt and lying in a hospital bed somewhere? asserted
they → hurt → bed
Maybe they are just a little busy and will be calling you at any moment. asserted
they → call → moment
You don’t know how to react because you don’t really know what has happened. asserted
what → know → ?
However, researchers have recently discovered that people who perform this cruel disappearing act are often beset with guilt, shame and remorse. asserted
who → discover → guilt
To understand who ghosting truly haunts, a joint research team from Cambridge and the University of California explored the phenomenon through three studies covering lived experiences, imagined situations, and live digital interactions. asserted
team → understand → experiences
“We find that people who are ghosted underestimate how bad their conversation partners feel about ghosting them,” study authors wrote in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. asserted
authors → find → journal
“Overall, this research provides a window into the overlooked pain of ghosting others,” they added. asserted
they → provide → others
Across all three studies, researchers found that the person who gets ghosted often assumes the person who cut off contact did so because they didn’t care or had moved on with someone else. asserted
they → find → someone
However, in many instances, the “ghosters” reported feeling genuinely conflicted and remorseful about their behavior. asserted
ghosters → report → behavior
“People who ghost others may experience guilt and even depressive symptoms consistent with the idea that hurting others can hurt oneself,” wrote the study authors. uncertain
authors → ghost → oneself
This proved particularly true when said ghosting was accidental and triggered by distraction, delayed response time, or abject forgetfulness. asserted
ghosting → prove → distraction
Further, researchers found that a minimal message, something as simple as “sorry, can’t talk,” went a long way toward reducing the misunderstanding and mitigating hard feelings. asserted
message → find → feelings
“At a time when romantic, social, and professional communication increasingly occurs online, and ghosting is the easiest form of rejection, it is important to understand when and why people ghost and their feelings about doing it,” they concluded. asserted
they → occur → it
Researchers hope their findings will help people adopt simple intervention strategies, better understand how conversation partners feel about responses, and navigate everyday communication with more efficacy and empathy. asserted
partners → hope → efficacy
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