It’s not about you; it’s about a broken business culture.
You’ve spent a lot of time, effort and emotional energy forging a working relationship. It’s all going well. Then… nothing. The founder who said they loved your first concept simply vanishes. A marketing lead who’s briefed you thoroughly and has promised a purchase order suddenly leaves you high and dry.
It’s a horrible situation to be in. From a financial standpoint alone, it can be crippling. But more fundamentally, you also start to doubt yourself. Was the quote too high? Were the concepts lame? Did they find someone cheaper, or use AI? Did you have some food on your face during the Zoom call that everyone was too polite to point out?
Horrific, right? But here’s what we’ve learned from our community on LinkedIn and Instagram. In 2026, ghosting has become systemic. So you shouldn’t take it personally. Because it’s not really about you at all.
Why silence has become the default
“I’ve seen a lot of this so far this year, and it can feel really hollow at times,” says director and cinematographer Rob Pinney. “I’m still getting a good number of approaches for new projects, but many more of those now end up with a dead email chain than before.”
So what’s behind the trend? “There seems to be a lot more budget hesitancy right now,” Rob suggests. “And I suspect some of that is to do with clients weighing up that potential spend on video production, in my case, versus what they could do with it elsewhere, including with AI tools.”
Film director Farai Dube has had similar experiences. “It’s a lot of stop and start,” he says. “When you’re at the start of the conversation, there’s actually a budget, but that’s in jeopardy depending on sales and generally how much money’s coming in. I get that: the part that’s frustrating is keeping you on the hook. I’d rather have clarity upfront.”
Yet it’s not just cash-strapped clients who are guilty of ghosting. Creative director Rich Holt, for instance, complains about “recruiters who appeal for specific people to contact them—even though they’re supposed to know the industry and have CVs on their desk already—and then just never reply.” Director and lecturer Luke Tonge, meanwhile, calls out: “folks not replying when you invite them to speak at an event. It can hold up planning for weeks and even months.”
So why does ghosting seem to be getting so much worse these days?
The fear factor
Graphic designer and photo retoucher Sandrine Bascouert reckons there’s something deeper going on than just laziness or poor organisation. “I think some people are afraid of communication as a whole,” she says. “Ghosting has become a way to avoid normal conversations where there could be feelings hurt and disappointment.”
That certainly chimes with my experience as a member of Generation X. When I first entered journalism in the 1990s, almost the entire job was phoning people. As long as you were polite and respectful, everyone was happy to chat.
By around the mid-2000s, though, I noticed that many creatives under 30 were screening their calls and wouldn’t pick up if they didn’t know the caller personally, even if they were actively trying to promote themselves and their work, which never made any sense to me.
Eventually I admitted defeat, and switched to email. But by the mid-2010s, many creatives were keeping their emails private—despite, again, ostensibly wanting self-promotion—and I had to start relying on social media DMs instead.
In 2026, many of those creatives are now seniors and CEOs. So it’s no surprise to me that some might lack the ability to have difficult conversations, and not be willing to put in the emotional labour when times get difficult. I don’t wish to generalise about an entire generation, of course. But still.
Good reason or bad actor?
Poor communication skills, though, are only one reason for ghosting: there are plenty more. If we’re being generous, for instance, we might assume that there’s been something like a family emergency, and the other party just doesn’t have the capacity to even open their inbox right now.
At the other end of the spectrum, some people can just be dicks. We’ve all heard of companies who interview people, ask for their ideas, and then simply steal them. There was never any job, freelance work or collaboration opportunity in the first place. It was all a scam.
Then there are those who sit somewhere in the middle, who aren’t malicious, but just fail to cope. That doesn’t help you, of course. As designer Nicholas Robb points out: “It starts to feel unfair after you’ve done a couple of calls with the stakeholders, bordering on consultation to help them scope it up. It would take 30 seconds to email back and say ‘not interested + a reason why’.”
Yet as an entrepreneur himself, he can also empathise. “I think business owners in particular are just so overwhelmed these days that they can’t afford the time or mental space to do even that,” he reflects. “So I try not to take it personally.”
How we should respond
Other than not beating yourself up for being ghosted, though, what can you practically do?
As a rule of thumb, designer Alexander Clark has developed a script. “After two or three of my emails go unreplied, I write this”, he says, “Since I’ve not heard from you, I’ll be pausing this and moving forward with other projects. Please let me know when you’d like to proceed or if you’ve changed priorities.” It usually yields a response within a day.”
This is a good strategy because it removes all ambiguity. You’ve stopped chasing them (giving them the power) and are about to close the door (giving you the power). They have no choice but to make a decision. At this point, silence and doing nothing becomes a decision in itself.
And if that’s what happens? Then move on, feeling empowered that you took control of the situation. And remember: their silence is not a poor reflection on you; it’s a poor reflection on their lack of professionalism and communication skills.
Setting boundaries upfront
Ultimately, prevention is always better than cure. So if you want to avoid getting ghosted, it’s always good to set boundaries upfront, such as a deadline for responding to proposals. That might seem a little overbearing, but remember that clients and employers are often super-busy, and a deadline can actually be helpful for them too.
Content creator Jacob Elias Nurse offers a further suggestion: have a lot of plates spinning. “One thing I’ve learned from my nine months of being a full-time freelancer is that keeping busy helps you not worry too much about replies from companies that want to dangle a carrot in your face,” he explains. “If you keep grinding at your craft, the money will follow.”
He even finds a way to frame ghosting as a positive. As he puts it: “Their disrespect isn’t a reflection of your craft or your quote. If anything, it helps you weed out who you want as a client and who you don’t want as one.”
Founder and creative director Kirsten Murray agrees. “A person who ghosts you is not someone you want to work with,” she says. “Mutual respect and open communication make for the best creative partnerships.”
So maybe that’s the main takeaway. Ghosting sucks, for sure, but it’s not necessarily a calamity. In fact, in the long term, it could be a good thing: saving you from a nightmare client and freeing you up to find a good’un instead.