Catfishing is a phenomenon that has been around for about as long as the Internet has been around. What is catfishing? According to cybersmile.org, “[catfishing] is when someone uses images and information (often taken from other people’s social media accounts) to create a new identity online – sometimes using an individual’s entire identity as their own. Newly created social media accounts can then be used to damage the reputation of the true owner of the identity, or alternatively any fictional identities that are created using other people’s images and information can be used to form dishonest relationships online. Although catfishing used to be seen more among adults using online dating platforms, it has now become a more widespread problem among adults and teenagers. Some people who catfish go to extreme lengths to create fake identities – having multiple social media accounts with the purpose of building up and validating their catfishing profiles.”
Why do people catfish? One of the most obvious reasons is money. People try to scam others out of money, personal information, etc. However, there are other reasons, as well. According to cybersmile.org, the other reasons why people catfish are the following:
“Insecurities – Someone might choose to catfish another person due to their own personal insecurities. They might consider themselves ‘ugly’ or ‘not good enough’ and feel more comfortable using the images or identity of another person that they consider ‘attractive enough’ or ‘worthy’.”
“Mental illness – Somebody suffering from some forms of mental illness might feel too anxious to reveal their true or authentic self. Someone suffering from depression might have very low self-esteem and feel like they are not ‘good enough’. There are many different conditions that can make people feel that the only way they can communicate with people effectively or with confidence is by pretending to be somebody else.”
“Hide their identity – Somebody who wants to hide their identity when using social media might use another person’s images and/or information. They might want to hide who they are to troll others, talk to people outside of an existing relationship or in some cases, they might catfish with the intention of trying to extort money from the person they have targeted.”
“Revenge – Some people use catfishing as a tool of seeking revenge on previous partners or people they consider ‘deserving’. Those seeking revenge often create social media accounts, which use the victim’s images and information in order to humiliate them or damage their reputation. They can also use fabricated identities to lure the person into a fake relationship to hurt them emotionally.”
“Harassment – Some people set up multiple catfishing accounts to maximize the emotional impact when harassing someone online. 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.”
I have seen a lot of articles and shows talk about what catfishing is, and how it is dangerous, but I have not seen anything about finding solutions to catfishing. That is what this article will do. This is not going to be an extensive piece. This is just going to highlight some of the systemic problems associated with catfishing, and how to meaningfully address those problems. There is no easy solution to solving catfishing. It is a systemic problem, and there are a lot of sociological factors involved when it comes to addressing catfishing meaningfully, and I believe it needs to be addressed in a meaningful manner. With this article, I hope to get a conversation started. Now let’s begin.
First and foremost, one of the most common reasons why people catfish is to scam people out of money. When people are desperate for things that they need, and they have no way to legally get what they need, they are going to resort to crime. To mitigate crime, providing basic necessities for people, like healthcare, food, clothing, and housing is a good start. If people are not in situations where committing crimes are viable options for them, then they are less likely to engage in criminal behavior (like scams). A lot of people commit crimes such as stealing, scamming, looting, etc. because they are desperate, and they need to survive. Check out the following Vaush video, which goes into depth about crime, systemic racism, etc. because some of the solutions are related.
Insecurity is another reason why people catfish. There are many different reasons why people feel insecure. People can feel insecure from rejections in the past. Insecurity can also stem from social anxiety or perfectionism. Psychology Today published an article about dealing with different types of insecurity. I will list some of them below. To deal with insecurity from rejections, Psychology Today recommends these steps:
- “Give yourself time to heal and adapt to the new normal.”
- “Get out and engage with life, following your interests and curiosity.”
- “Reach out to friends and family for distraction and comfort.”
- “Get feedback from people you trust.”
- “Persevere and keep moving towards your goals.”
- “Be willing to try a different strategy if necessary.”
For insecurity stemming from social anxiety, Psychology Today recommends the following:
- “Talk back to your inner critic. Remind yourself of all the reasons that you can be interesting and fun or would be a good friend or partner.”
- “Prepare in advance. Think of some things you can talk about—current events, movies you’ve seen, hobbies, your job, or your family.”
- “Avoiding social situation just makes things worse. So go to a party or on a date even if you’re nervous. Your anxiety should decrease once you get engaged with others—if not the first or second time, then once you get used to showing up.”
- “Set yourself a limited, realistic goal. This could be anything from talking to two new people or finding out more about one person’s work and hobbies. “
- “Deliberately focus on others to combat intense self-focus. Put on your observer hat and notice what other people seem to be feeling and doing. Do you notice any similarities or skills you can learn from them?”
For insecurity that stems from perfectionism, Psychology Today suggests the following steps:
- “Try to evaluate yourself based on how much effort you put in, which is controllable, rather than on the outcome, which is dependent on external factors. “
- “Think about how much difference it would actually make if your work were 10 percent better. Would the time and energy spent in checking and re-checking or answering every email really be worth it?”
- “Perfectionism is often based on all- or nothing thinking, so try to find the grey areas. Is there a more compassionate or understanding way to view a situation? Are you taking your circumstances into account when you evaluate yourself? Is there something you learned or achieved even if the end result wasn’t perfect?”
- “Perfectionists often have conditional self-esteem: They like themselves when they are on top and dislike themselves when things don’t go their way. Can you learn to like yourself even when you are not doing well? Focus on inner qualities like your character, sincerity, or good values, rather than just on what grades you get, how much you get paid, or how many people like you.”
Here are some interesting Vaush videos that discuss insecurity.
People also may catfish due to some sort of mental condition that they may have. They may feel insecure about who they are, so they may not want to reveal their true self. There are so many ways to address mental health that I am not going to delve into here. However, one of the first things that needs to be done is to raise mental health awareness in society. If people can better understand the types of conditions that are out there, and the stigmas surrounding numerous mental health conditions can be severely mitigated, then it will be easier for a lot of people to be more open about who they truly are. Here is an article that talks about improving mental health awareness.
https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/state-mental-health-u-s-improving-awareness/
People may also catfish others to harass, troll, or seek revenge. These behaviors are toxic. The following articles discuss about some ways to address toxic masculinity. Whilst catfishing is not exclusive to men, the ways to address toxic masculinity can similarly be applied to addressing catfishing.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-fight-toxic-masculinity/
One of the last reasons that is mentioned as to why people may catfish is that they are trying to explore their sexuality. One of the ways to address this is to destigmatize sex and sexuality. Here is an article that discusses about destigmatizing sex work. Although it is not the same, some of the ways to address stigmatization of sex work can be applied to the stigmatization of exploring one’s sexuality.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/08/07/why-sex-work-should-be-decriminalized
These are just a few possible ways to address catfishing. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to it. It is a systemic problem, a cultural one, and a societal one, and to find solutions to it, there are underlying problems that need to be addressed. As long as the Internet exists, there are going to be people who catfish. However, if we can mitigate some of the problems that lead to people catfishing in the first place, then it is possible to reduce the number of catfishes on the Internet.