NEGROS Oriental Rep. Arnulfo Teves wants to declare “ghosting,” or the act of suddenly ending communication with a person’s love interest without any explanation, as an “emotional offense.”
But Teves’ House Bill No. 611 does not propose penalties for ghosting, which it says can be “mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting to the ‘ghosted person.’”
Teves, the same lawmaker who filed the bill seeking to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after President Marcos’ father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., said ghosting can be “likened to a form of emotional cruelty” as it leaves the aggrieved with trauma due to “no real closure.”
“Ghosting — when someone cuts off all forms of communication can be mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting to the ‘ghosted’ person. Studies have shown that social rejection of any kind activates the same pain pathways in the brain as physical pain, meaning there’s a biological link between rejection and pain,” he said.
“The ambiguity with ghosting is that there is no real closure between parties concerned and as such, it can be likened to a form of emotional cruelty and should be punished as an emotional offense because of the trauma it causes to the ‘ghosted,” he added.
The congressman pointed out that the act of “dating” has changed a lot over the years because of the advent of the internet and social media, which he said has made it easy for “single” people to find their special someone online.
