How to be a Successful Catfish
1.) Have a social media account
2.) Use a photo of someone else
3.) Or use a very old photo of yourself
4.) Create a whole new personality
5.) Get your mom or a friend to speak for you
At least those are some ways to catfish as described from the social media reality show, ‘The circle’.
Catfishing has been around for years since the rise of virtual communities in the early stages of web 2.0 in the early 2000’s. Often found in virtual communities, are individuals that adopt a different identity to navigate the web and interact with people over messaging programs such as: MSN Messenger, AOL messenger and Yahoo Chat (Mchugh, 2015). As of this year, catfishers undergo through more complex ways to exploit their victims — specifically with the use of Instagram and snap chat.
Upon researching more on the modern-day catfish, I came across a YouTuber by the name of ‘Don’s Life’ who created a video called, ‘How to be a Successful Catsfish’ (hence the title of this entry). In the video, Don comically reveals the step by step process on how to catfish successfully which requires a preexisting loyal following and a team willing to work with them. This team usually consist of 3–4 members that work on the clock with the catfisher in case of spontaneous interactions such as a phone call, a video chat or perhaps even to diffuse an escalated situation. The consensus that I reached upon finishing the video is that the modern catfisher has a motive that usually involves receiving money — or just to humiliate their victim. However, I also believe that the catfishers of today don’t all express the same superficial motives as expressed by Don’s Life.
According to Nev Schulman, the producer and host of the famous MTV show ‘Catfish’ described catfishers as individuals looking to connect and create fulfilling relationships through a false persona due to uncertainty of themselves (Schulman, 2014).
In the first case study provided for this week, Sharon Coen states that most people who catfish are looking to explore their identities, usually teenagers who use it as an opportunity to build wholesome connections. The case study outlines the reasoning and the pros of catfishing, but it also outlines the dangers to it too. The problem with catfishing is that there is always a motive, and how those motives are fulfilled is the real issue. Catfishing is popularly known to have many negative connotations, despite that some catfishers may use its anonymity for good intentions; we still must understand that it is a form of deception. When encountering a catfisher, usually one person is honest about themselves, while the other is not, which further proves the negative associations surrounding it.
In conclusion, catfishing is used to deceive an individual by gaining something. Though there are happy endings from that interaction, for the most part I believe it is a learning experience for anyone who engages with a catfish. And it should be an opportunity for the catfisher to learn something from it as well; the truth always reveals itself eventually. If some catfishers are looking for enriched connections, it is important they need to be honest with themselves first.
References
McHugh, M. (2017, June 29). The Life of an Internet Catfish Is Rough These Days. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.wired.com/2015/07/catfish-2/
To Catfish or Not to Catfish? (2018, November 15). Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://mediaethicsinitiative.org/2018/11/15/to-catfish-or-not-to-catfish/
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