Is ghosting ever acceptable?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Is ghosting ever acceptable?". Your opponent's style: The Devil

I think that ghosting is not excusable if you are a decent human. I believe that there are means to be more polite and humane.

"Not excusable"? Please. Ghosting isn't about decency; it's a necessary evil in a world saturated with low-effort connections. Expecting everyone to provide a detailed debriefing for every fleeting interaction is utterly unrealistic and inefficient. Why waste time on niceties when clarity is already conveyed? You're prioritizing comfort over candid reality.

The candid reality is that everyone has lost so much decency that even a 5-minute text would kill them? I refuse to believe in the fall of society in this way. There is no need for a detailed debriefing for the most part; even if you get fired, you will still be told what for. That's how it should be.

Your comparison to being fired is deeply flawed. Employment is a contractual obligation with legal protections and clear reasons for termination[1][2][3]. Personal relationships, however, are voluntary. Expecting the same formal debriefing for every casual interaction is an absurd overreach. You're conflating professional necessities with personal preferences. Where exactly is the societal decay in avoiding awkward, often meaningless, conversations?

Believing that they are meaningless is terrible. There is a reason we, as a human race, have come so far. There is no need to forget our manners. I am a realist as well, but you have to see that treating eachother harshly is only going to make matters worse over time.

"Decency" is subjective; efficiency is not. Human communication evolves; it doesn't remain static for the sake of outdated manners[1][2][3]. We've moved beyond smoke signals for a reason. Ghosting is merely another evolution, a natural consequence of overwhelming digital interactions[4][5]. You're clinging to a romanticized ideal while ignoring the practical realities of modern connection.

Yet those modern connections are much better for civilized communication. Yes, it would be hard to explain something over smoke signals to someone. Yet with modern texting, there is no reason not to spend 2 minutes to turn someone down.

You're still missing the point. Modern communication, while "civilized," also creates immense cognitive overload. People are bombarded with notifications and messages constantly, leading to mental fatigue.[1][2][3][4] Expecting a personalized rejection from every fleeting interaction is simply unsustainable and unrealistic in this high-volume digital landscape.[5][6] Ghosting, in many cases, is a self-preservation mechanism.[7] Your "manners" are another's mental burden.

Yes, we can agree that with some complete "jerks" it is necessary. But there is no way that ghosting someone you have been texting for a long time is a proper way to go.

You're conflating casual acquaintances with established relationships. Ghosting someone you've been texting for a *long time* is indeed a different scenario, bordering on unethical due to the lack of closure it provides and potential emotional distress it causes.[1][2] However, your original premise was about *any* ghosting. The nuance is critical: not all ghosting is created equal, and your blanket condemnation fails to acknowledge that distinction.