What is catfishing

The phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down. Why do people catfish? The reasons are never good. Some catfish are out to troll or harass their victims.

Other catfish want to scam money from their victims, or the catfishing is the first step in a plan to kidnap or physically abuse them. Whatever the case, you don't want to find yourself a victim of catfishing. I have also had a catfishing experience: When I was a teenager, I role-played on the blogging site Xanga. Through the online community, I purportedly met a year-old man named Corey from Long Island. These were the days before smartphones, so he gave me his number to text all day.

Cyberbullies make a habit of using the emotions of their targets against them. This is often accomplished by identifying a physical trait, aspect of their personal history, or something that makes them feel depressed, scared, or sad. The catfisher then uses this against their victim. Catfishers also tend to target people who are lonely or have expressed a need for a romantic relationship, whether online or in person.

Abusing these vulnerabilities puts catfishing in the cyberbullying category. People catfish for a number of reasons. Some do not involve malicious intent, while others directly seek to harm specific people. Some of the primary reasons behind catfishing include:. A common thread among many of the reasons why people catfish is an absence of self-confidence.

In other cases, the catfisher lacks the self-confidence needed to express themselves openly, but under the guise of a false identity, they feel they can be who they want to be. What does it mean to be catfished? However, if you notice any of the seven following signs, you may be the victim of a catfishing scam. Catfishers often do not have many friends or followers on their accounts.

This is due to a few different reasons. First, the account is typically created for a specific reason: to catfish a particular target.

They may only use the account for that purpose but use their real social media accounts for more genuine interactions. Therefore, they may not invest the time needed to populate their catfishing account with friends or followers. Often, to gain connections on social media, a user has to self-market, reach out to others, view posts, and like online content or follow profiles.

Another reason is to reduce the chances of being caught. The more friends or followers a catfisher has, the more questions may be asked regarding their identity, their profession, or their location. The risk of getting discovered is also increased when the catfisher has more friends because accepting a friend suggestion verifies a connection made by the social media site's algorithm.

For example, if Facebook recommends someone as a friend, it may be because they live in your area or went to the same school. If a catfisher only changed how they looked or a few other basic elements of their identity, someone who knows how the suggestion algorithm generally works could figure out they are not who they say they are.

Therefore, the fewer friends a catfisher has, the smaller the chances of them being discovered. If someone refuses to video chat or engage in a phone call, they may be trying to keep you from seeing how they really look or hearing what they really sound like. In most cases, the catfisher will invent excuses as to why they cannot talk or video chat.

For example, each time you agree to a time to connect, something comes up, or they claim their schedule is inundated with appointments. Our mission is to give parents and guardians the tools they need to raise kids in the digital age. What Is Catfishing? About Bark Bark is a comprehensive online safety solution that empowers families to monitor content, manage screen time, and filter websites to help protect their kids online. Start a free trial. Share via. Copy Link.

Powered by Social Snap. Copy link. Copy Copied. They might set up several social media accounts because the recipient of the harassment has blocked their initial catfishing account or they might do it to create the impression that there are growing numbers of people participating in the abuse, in an attempt to overwhelm the victim. Exploring sexual preference — When someone is confused or curious about their sexuality, they might create false profiles so they can confidently explore their curiosity without having to reveal their true identity.

The effects of catfishing When someone is catfished, it can be extremely damaging to their mental health — especially if they are emotionally invested in a friendship or romantic relationship with the catfisher. Signs that you might be being catfished It can difficult to spot a catfish.

They might also have very few friends and show little or no interaction with them online. In order to avoid video chatting, catfishers make up excuses. To avoid this, some catfishers will agree to meet up with you to seem more authentic only to back out at the last moment. How can I prevent being catfished? Never giving out money — Some catfishers will target people in order to scam money from them. You should never give money to anybody who asks for it online.

Taking your time — Always be careful when sending images or sexually explicit messages to another person online.