Can't Stop Texting Your Ex? Send Them To The “Phone Graveyard”

There comes a time after every breakup when you feel the urge to text your ex. It could happen on a night out with friends when you drunkenly reach for your phone to send a quick “hey” without even thinking, or during a moment of weakness on a slow Sunday when you feel like you miss them and want to say hi. The trouble is that reaching out stops you from healing and moving on, especially when they respond and confuse your feelings.

On TikTok, the best remedy to this age-old problem is to send your ex to the “phone graveyard.” With over 15 million posts, this trend has become one of the best breakup tricks out there — and all you have to do is change your ex’s name in your phone to the tombstone emoji. According to creator @julisathecaymanian, the tombstone emoji serves as a reminder to not reach out and “contact the dead,” and it might even allow you to eventually forget who they are.

Under her August 2022 video, which has over 950,000 likes, one person commented, “Why is this so clever tho haha,” while another wrote, “If they call you can answer ‘who’s this?’ because they’re in the past.” Creator @darcyalexis said the phone graveyard trick is also the perfect way to handle a date who’s done you dirty.

If you’re talking to someone you met on Hinge and they say something out of line, or if you go on a bad date and feel mildly traumatized afterward, you can banish the person to the phone graveyard where they may rest easy amongst your other exes and failed matches.

Send Your Ex To The Phone Graveyard

When you change someone’s name to the tombstone emoji, it immediately plummets their number to the bottom of your contacts list. If you have more than one ex or more than one person you no longer want to speak to, you’ll eventually collect a “cemetery” of tombstones that all look the same.

The graveyard makes it tough to accidentally text your ex since you won’t know which tombstone is their number, but it also serves as a visual reminder that they’re a thing of the past. When you see the tombstone, the hope is you’ll stop and think before you reach out.

This trick works for situationships, too. If you’re tired of messaging someone and getting nothing back, off to the graveyard they go. It’s a nice way to put the nail in the proverbial coffin of a nothing relationship so that you can finally move on.

On TikTok, some creators say they love when a tombstone number pops up in a text and they have no idea who it is, like @sofiadrianasalazar.

When she sees a tombstone text come in, she never knows who it is, and it makes it easier for her to ignore them. In this case, the best course of action is to delete the text before you can read it and figure out who it is. Simply erase it and move on with your day.

Of course, blocking someone is the best way to officially move on after a breakup, especially if you’re 100% sure a call is coming from a particularly toxic ex.

Going no contact is a surefire way to heal from a bad breakup. To free yourself from your ex once and for all, change their name to the tombstone, block their number, and focus on living your best life.

Other Uses For The Phone Graveyard

The phone graveyard doesn’t just have to be for exes you’re still in love with or situationships who won’t leave you alone. It can also be for someone who gives you the ick, according to @stellamirage.

If you’re actively dating and talking to multiple people, this is a handy way to remind yourself who isn’t worth your time. Did they belittle your interests? Talk down to the server? Or simply chew their food too loud? Send them to the contact list cemetery.

This trick comes in handy for toxic family members and friends, too. Creator @nicolerayymusic says she’ll pull someone’s first and last name in her phone. Then, each time they let her down — even in small ways — she’ll delete a letter from their name. If it ever gets to the point where their name is fully gone, that’s when they get a tombstone and she knows never to answer that number again.

The Takeaway

The phone graveyard is all about sparing yourself relationship drama while maintaining healthy boundaries, but it’s also a total life-saver if you can’t stop texting your ex. If you’re someone who has zero self-control when it comes to reaching out, give your ex the graveyard treatment and it should help set you free.