The study was conducted to provide a “real-world window” into online abuse facing those who engage in online relationships. “This is one of the first studies to gather so many detailed firsthand accounts illustrating the wide range of problematic ways people respond to rejection online. Nearly half (47.7 per cent) of participants who rejected someone online reported experiencing aggressive responses, with 93 per cent of those senders being men, while 67 per cent of aggressive responses came from strangers. Their findings helped illuminate “rejection dynamics,” like entitlement to consent, insults and aggression which are triggered even by less overt forms of rejection like ghosting. “This research can help raise awareness that aggressive responses to rejection are real and a common online issue.