This week has been incredibly busy with trying to balance taking care of two small children, finishing all of my coursework for my masters program, and wrapping up first quarter grading at my school. As a result, it has also been incredibly difficult to find time to actually have any significant social interactions. Okay, don’t worry, this whining does have something to do with digital literacy.
With time at a premium, I have felt that I have not been able to respond much to people on social media or comments made on my own blog for this class. In addition, my communications with friends and family have dropped off as well. While this can be socially isolating, I have also been considering whether this may be sending unintentional messages to those around me. In other words, have I been unintentionally “ghosting” people through my inability to maintain consistent communication? Though, since I’m not intentionally trying to harm them, maybe “Caspering” is a better term for it.
All of this has also made me think about how social norms have changed over the past decade. Based on a small amount of research on Wikipedia, the term ghosting wasn’t even being used until 2011. And while there has always been an expectation that we stay connected with our friends and family, the expansion of social media and texting means that we are often expected to interact with a wider group of people in shorter yet frequent ways. This is not necessarily bad, but it does seem at times overwhelming (especially for people that tend to prefer more traditional means of communication).
Is there a ghost in you?
DeJoy of Teaching 
I’ve always used the term ghosting since it first came around, but I’ve never heard of “Caspering” before! Sadly, I’ve done both. I think it’s an unfortunate thing on both ends to ghost someone online if a relationship isn’t working out (whether its platonic or romantic). If a person does ghost somebody, they need take responsibility for the other person potentially getting hurt in the end and own up to it if confronted about it.
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Yes, I agree. I think that it is really important that we take responsibility for what we say or don’t say to others – especially if it is knowingly causing harm. On a side note, I thought I was being clever by coining the term “Caspering” but then googled it and found out that it is actually not that original. While I have never actually heard it used by anyone, apparently others have been using it in the same way that I did.
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hmmm… interesting. I never heard of “ghosting” or “Caspering” terms before. I feel that I am in the same boat with you. Have not had the opportunity to contribute much of my time in corresponding and communicating with others via social media. Thank you for sharing new terms with us.
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Glad to share a little new knowledge!
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