The Psychology Of Ignoring Someone: Here’s Everything You Need To Know

by Alolika Biswas · September 11, 2018

“Please don’t go Justin, just one picture, just one. I swear I’m your biggest fan on this planet. Why are you doing this to me? You’re taking pictures with everybody. Please take one with me! You don’t know what it means to me. I’m your biggest fan! Justin! Justin! Why Lord? Why me!” This was said by a physically disabled man who met his favorite idol, who was his role model, on the road when the latter was getting inside his car. The latter not only ignored the disabled man’s request, but to make him feel worse, he also took pictures with everybody in front of him leaving this man. Clearly the man had no faults. He was ignored, and shunned because he was physically disabled. It’s a shame to see that such things are still practiced by a selective group of superstars. Evidently such people who practice ignorance are psychologically unsound. The one to ignore is the one who has been ignored.

Remember the time when one of your friends suddenly started ignoring you? Maybe because you had done something against his wishes or maybe because you had disappointed him in some way. Very rarely, in these cases do we know the actual reason behind such drastic changes in some pal’s behavior. Now, how about the time when you ignored your parents when they tried to invade your privacy? Remember that phase when you ignored your lover as they did not meet up to your expectations?

All of us have been ignored at some point or the other which has led to insecurity, uncertainty and confusion in our minds. The most common one is when we keep texting our friend but they don’t respond. The easiest way to get rid of someone is by ignoring that person. But have we ever placed ourselves in that individual’s shoes at that moment and wondered what it feels like to be ignored? At some point in life, we have all been a practitioner or a victim to ignorance. Yet we do not give ourselves the chance to make a subtle approach. Every individual has their likes or dislikes towards another person. It can be due to various reasons, like for instance, the two individuals may possess contradicting personalities or they may hold a grudge against one another. Many a times it’s one sided which might be a result of jealousy or betrayal or even competitiveness.

Although human minds differ from person to person, all human beings share one similar personality. That is ignorance when you see that something or someone is not meeting up to your expectations. Ignorance is often an advice that are shared by adults. For example, when there’s a regular controversy leading to quarrels or fights between siblings, it is best advised to ignore one another.

Why do people ignore each other? When reasoned for his behavior, a person will bring forth a hundred reasons to protect himself. Similarly when you ask a person why he ignores another being, he will give you a book full of reasons in which mostly none are justified. The psychology of ignoring someone is one of the most ancient forms of psychological techniques to express discontent against the person who is unable to meet up to one’s expectations. It has been practiced through generations by people from all religions, and nationalities. For example, the silent treatment given by a Brahmin to an ‘untouchable’ or the behavior of men towards women undergoing menstrual cycles in the past are all unjustified. With time, mankind has brought forth education as a weapon against all these injustice done to one another.

Scientists, through their studies have found that people who practice ignorance in their day to day life, are psychologically disabled. This is because mature and sound people do not choose ignorance as their solution to every problem. But in more than half the cases it is observed that a person who is ignored, often calls ignorance upon himself. In other words, a person is often ignored as he paves the way for the others to ignore him. The common reasons which lead a person to ignorance are:

Impatience

Nobody wants a friend who is going to talk about themselves and not listen to others or who has no patience towards their friends or family.

Boasting

People love to boast about their success in different ways. But too much boasting is appreciated by none. It creates a wrong impression about the individual and results in competitiveness, thereby leading to making more enemies than friends.

Negativity

Everybody wants positive things to happen in their lives. Now if a person is always surrounded by trouble, obviously they will be ignored as nobody will want to be dragged into a negative scenario unnecessarily. Moreover pessimistic people have lesser friends than optimistic people. This is so because at the end of the day, everybody needs to be motivated to perform better.

Dishonesty

People come closer when they can entrust their faith in one another. Once that faith is broken or played around with, it is impossible to bring it back. When one fails to value the integrity of oneself, they lose all those who are around them.

Bad behavior

Everybody wants respect in life. The one who does not value other people or ill-treats them, are never wanted by the society.

Prejudices/racism/discrimination

A person being ignored is not always at fault. The psychology of ignorance can have the lamest reasons when practiced by unsound minds. Often it is the fault of the practitioner. There are people who are psychologically disabled and practice racism or other forms of social discrimination. The reasons behind such practices are unjustified. For such biased people, nationalism, caste, creed, color, physique and sex overrides the worth of an individual being. To these people, having fair skin, golden hair and blue eyes or belonging to a particular religion or nationality is the key to acceptance. Such people should be dealt with in different ways as they do not fall in the category of sound minds.

What should be done when you are being ignored?

It’s not in our hands to control the likes or dislikes of another person. Then what should we do when someone decides to ignore us? First, we should try and identify our faults. It may be reasonable or unjustified. If you realize that you are at fault, rectify yourself. If needed, then go and apologize for your mistakes. The psychology of ignoring someone differs from person to person. So if you realize that the one to ignore you has no valid reasons for such behaviors, do not allow the thought to consume you. It will lead to depression and agitation. Rather avoid the person and surround yourself with optimistic people.

In case you are left with nobody, indulge yourself in various kinds of hobbies that please you. You may even try something new or absolutely different from what you generally prefer doing.

List of things to follow when you are ignored