Relationship Length and CommitmentRegardless of how a relationship was initiated, as partners get to know each other thedegree of contact between them should typically follow a similar pattern, with offlinecontact, social network overlap, commitment and exclusivity increasing as the duration ofthe relationship increases. Freedman et al. (2018) found ghosting was perceived to bemore acceptable to end short term relationships than long term relationships, andghosting was more acceptable to end relationships that only lasted two dates or less, orbefore physical intimacy occurred. Approval for the use of ghosting to end long termrelationships or those in which physical intimacy occurred did not exceed 6.5% in asample of 554 participants. Regarding more serious relationships, Davis (1973) suggestedthat due to the interdependent nature of close relationships, a direct conversation aboutdissolving a relationship is necessary to successfully “untie” partners from each other,meaning dissolving a relationship by simply fading away would be less likely to besuccessful. Therefore, as commitment, relationship length and interdependence increase,the more difficult and unlikely ghosting should become. In Banks, Altendorf, Greene andCody’s (1987) examination of breakup tactics and outcomes, they found avoidancetactics were usually implemented when intimacy and partner similarity were low.Similarly, Baxter (1982) found avoidance tactics were more likely to be used todisengage from a friendship as opposed to a close relationship. Accounts of ghostingexperiences in the popular culture literature have described ghosting experiences atvarious points of a relationship ranging from relationships that had not yet moved offline(if initiated online; Hardwick, n.d.) to those that had existed for months or years(Samakow, 2014). Exploring the associations between these relationship characteristicsand the occurrence of ghosting may inform whether ghosting is most commonly utilizedearly on in relationships before partners feel notably committed, invested, or exclusivelytied to their partners.