This Dating App Banned 'Ghosting', and People Have Some Strong Opinions

Cell phones have revolutionized the dating scene. Once upon a time, the only chance of meeting someone new was in person, perhaps at a bar or at work. Now we have the luxury of chatting with potential lovers in the palm of our hands.

However, such technology has also given us a host of new toxic dating behaviors, such as ghosting—the act of disappearing in the middle of a courtship.

The online dating industry is booming, with as many as one in four people getting engaged after swiping right. But not everyone has had a pleasant experience.

According to Pew Research Centre, 42 percent of 4,860 online daters describe their personal experience with dating sites or apps as negative.

The results also found that six-in-ten female online dating users aged 18 to 34 say someone via a dating site or app continued to contact them after they said they were not interested.

Enter a new app called Tame, which aims to remove all the toxic behavior such as ghosting. While this sounds positive, Twitter users aren't too keen to find out the reason why someone may not want to take the conversation any further.

The Tame app website states there will be no more swiping and users can only speak to one person at a time. If they don't feel a spark, they must reveal why before the app allows them to pick up anyone else.

Tweeter @_georgina666 shared a screenshot of the new app and stated this feature "sounds awful". Over seven million people have viewed the tweet, which racked up 60,600 likes. But it turns out the feature isn't as brutal as it may seem.

A Tame spokesperson told Newsweek: "Tame users exchange answers to hand-picked questions and then decide if they are interested in each other. If they match, they enter a one-on-one conversation and no longer have access to other profiles, unless either party ends the conversation.

"The 'no ghosting' feature is designed to encourage users who are no longer interested in a conversation to close it rather than leaving the other person waiting or confused.

"Users are not forced to give an explanation when closing a conversation, but we offer the opportunity to leave a comment if they wish. They can also select options such as 'prefer not to say' to instantly close the conversation.

"Our intention is to have our users be actively invested in conversation if they're interested, to keep momentum and meet if they wish to, or adversely, to close the conversation and move on if either party decides they're no longer interested."

Tame may have good intentions but the internet isn't so sure: over 2,840 people responded to the viral tweet.

One user said: "The makers of the app clearly don't understand what dating is. You're supposed to talk to multiple people and see who you like better. You are not entitled to be my sole focus right out [of] the gate. You have to earn that (as I do too)."

"Genuinely think I'd rather just be ghosted than have someone tell me why they don't want to talk to me anymore," wrote another.

Some users are for the idea, one user said: "I'm completely in favor of no ghosting personally. It's not difficult for one adult to say to another 'I'm not interested'."

"I support the 'no ghosting' policy, but that's about it. The normalization of selfish behaviour, including ghosting, is detrimental to society. Ghosting is never okay. Full stop," agreed another.

However, one user questioned their views and said: "Everyone in favor of the no ghosting thing, are you all OK? If someone doesn't message me back I just leave it, move on, and don't think about it again. If you're taking a person you've never even met before [and] not replying so personally please trust me when I say you need to get help."

Newsweek reached out to @_georgina666 but she declined to comment.

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