Ghosting. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a complete disappearing act rather than a proper goodbye. In the age of social media, there are people to steer away from or issues people may try to avoid; ghosting is sometimes the response.

“Ghosting is starting to become more and more common regarding the younger generations, and it is leading even some of the older generation to start doing it too,” junior Joshua Higginbotham said.  

Sometimes ghosting may even be a way of breaking up with a significant other. 

“Don’t get me wrong, ghosting isn’t the most tactful way of breaking it off with someone, but even I have been guilty of doing it at some point or another, it is just easier to run away from your problems on a screen then it is to face them in person,” junior Sean Masterson said.

As The New York Times reports, “[I]t’s a verb that refers to ending a romantic relationship by cutting off all contact and ignoring the former partner’s attempts to reach out.

“Ghosting is the new word for ignoring someone completely and in a modern world like this it is pretty easy to do,” junior Adam Polly said.

The term has already entered the polling lexicon: In October 2014, a YouGov/Huffington Post poll of 1,000 adults showed 11 percent of Americans had ‘ghosted’ someone.”