Catfishing is trying to befriend or lure someone in with a fake persona online, usually through social media. A catfish is the person behind the fake profile.
The Problem/Dangers:
Catfishing is considered an online hazard to people of all ages and those that use all types of social media, including online dating and social sites (Facebook, Instagram...). It can also be a form of cyber-bullying among kids in schools (Scheff, 2013). A young girl committed suicide because of a catfishing incident where she thought she was in an online relationship with a boy who was actually her neighbor and a her friend's mother. The woman pretended to be a boy to find out what was being said online about her own daughter. The woman, posed as the boy, then "broke up" with the young girl and spread "slut" and "whore" rumors around her webpage, and the girl was so hurt, she hung herself in her own bedroom. The story can be found at this website. This is more common that we wish it was, and many teens are lured in by fake profiles.
Famous Notre Dame football player Manti Te'o was also a catfish victim, which really brought attention to the problem. He had an online girlfriend that he later found out was non-existent in real life. It was said that his girlfriend and his grandmother had died on the same day. Though the grandmother part was true, the girlfriend did not die because she did not exist. This incident spread awareness about cyber-bullying, as Te'o speaks about himself as a victim. (Patchin, 2013)
Catfishing is a real problem that goes beyond just online dating and social media. Many sexual predators use catfishing as a way to lure in victims as well as for child pornography and sex trafficking. A 2013 Florida investigation found men posing as teenagers online trying to lure young girls in for sex. The investigation led to over 50 arrests as police used fake accounts to catch them and lead them to a decoy meeting location. Chris Duque, a former online predator detective states " It's easy to be duped online, very easy. The thing with the internet is your five senses are somewhat limited and what you see online may not be what you're really going to get.".
Catfishing and other types of cyber-bullying are not going away any time soon with the popularity of technology today. We need to be alert about the people we correspond with on the internet. Though some people think catfishing can be playful and innocent, it can lead to serious dangers.
Statistics:
- 54% of people believe someone they’ve met via online dating has used false information (Anderson, 2015)
- 1 out of every 10 online dating profiles is FAKE (Anderson, 2015)
28% have been contacted in a way that left them feeling harassed or uncomfortable
- 41% of social network site users have used a social networking site to get more information about a potential partner (D'Costa, 2014)
- 83 million Facebook accounts are faked or duplicate in nature (Lacapria, 2013)
- 97 percent of catfishing accounts claim to be female (Lacapria, 2013)
Teaching Resource:
Schools often worry about bullying within their schools, but may forget about the bullying that occurs outside of school. We can help our kids be aware of the dangers of catfishing and cyber-bullying by making them aware of what can happen as a result. Kids should not be talking to any strangers online, as they may not be who they think/say they are. Kim Lacapria put together a great infographic that is easy to follow and understand that would make a great teaching resource. It can be found here. Using an infographic makes the topic easy to understand and is a style many students may have seen before with how popular technology is now. Another great infographic can be found at this website, and can be used for teaching purposes.
Below is a list of tips to help students stay safe from catfish online:
- Limit personal information displayed online. Address, phone number, full name, and financials should never be shared (Scheff, 2013)
- Consider using video chatting so you can see real-time and real people (Patchin, 2013)
- Never go by yourself to meet someone (Patchin, 2013)
- Look out for those who claim to have glamorous professions and lifestyles (Anderson, 2015)
- Be suspicious if someone has traumatic reasons for not being able to meet in person, or they consistently put off meeting face to face (Anderson, 2015)
- Be cautious if a random and attractive person starts contacting you online (McHugh)
McHugh also gives a great list of how we can tell if someone may be a catfish:
Catfishing has become so common that it has turned into its own reality television show. I hope this does not persuade kids that it is ok to do this online. Though the show was produced by a catfishing victim, so it may show the dangers and the downside to it all. MTV has produced the show and it is on it's 5th season. Some episodes of this show could be used for educational purposes to show real life examples and to show how prevalent it has become.
References:
Anderson, Cass. "These Stats On How Common ‘Catfishing’ Is Just Might Blow Your Mind Apart." BroBible. N.p., 16 Nov. 2015. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
D'Costa, Krystal. "Catfishing: The Truth About Deception Online." Scientific American. Springer Nature, 25 Apr. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Lacapria, Kim. "Catfishing is bigger than you might think, study reveals trick used by fraudsters." Social News Daily. N.p., 23 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
McHugh, Molly. "It's Catfishing season! How to tell lovers from liars online, and more." Digital Trends. N.p., 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2016
Patchin, Justin. " Catfishing as a Form of Cyberbullying." Cyberbullying Research Center. N.p., 7 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Scheff, Sue. "Catfish: Why Parents Need To Discuss It With Their Teens." Huffington Post. N.p., 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Honestly I had never heard of "catfish" before this assignment. I had never seen the show. So when you mention the reaction of victims such as the girl that committed suicide, at the risk of sounding insensitive, my first reaction was "how could someone be so attached to an online relationship?" Then I realized it was likely more of the rumor spreading and shaming that followed the "break up" but still there is a significant emotional reaction at the realization that the person on the other end of the keyboard doesn't exist. My question is "why?" Why is it that when people get involved in these "cyber-relationships" they feel any sort of connection? There is no physical contact. No audio communication. Purely text on a screen. What would the difference be between an online relationship and a program that could be coded to respond to basic conversation?
ReplyDeleteIs it the idea of just being cared about by another "person"? Is the significant part of a relationship the feeling that another person has feelings for you and when you realize that this other person and their "feelings" don't actually exist? Or is it a trust thing where we feel that our trust has been betrayed?
I am focusing on this part because the other aspects of the threats that "catfishing" poses are all too real and need no further validation.
I have not heard of catfishing being an issue at my school. If anything my students are overly "real" with each other. I can see how this can be an issue though in today's society with the rise of social media. Students need to be aware that this can happen espcially if they are out there sharing their personal information. I really like the part of your blog were you put teaching resources. Those will be very beneficial to us future and current teachers.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't only happen in dating scenarios. The danger to students is that people can catfish students on Instagram, Snapchat, etc. and the unsuspecting student thinks they are a friend, and soon is giving information that they only give to friends. The other danger is identifying where the student is or lives based on the surroundings in the photo that they post, and the student has no idea they just gave that information away from a picture.
DeleteI'm guilty of watching the first season of "Catfish" when the show debuted and I remember thinking "How could someone fall for this?". Although there are many factors that go into this situation, one main reason can be that our socializing has changed to be more media based making face-to-face socialization less needed.
ReplyDeleteI love that you gave so much information on cat fishing, how cat fishing relates to the world and our students and how teachers can react to this phenomena. Great job creating a well rounded blog!
I have not had any personal experience with cat fishing but I've received strange messages on Facebook that I've ignored. With my students, I have not heard much of this although it does make me nervous that they may not realize being catfishes is a potential threat for them.
I found this article http://cyberbullying.org/catfishing-as-a-form-of-cyberbullying which gives a combination look at cyberbullying and cat fishing. I found this article was well written and provided great evidence of how real both of these issues are. At the end of the article, we are reminded of how easy it is to be cat fished and how often this happens. The article provides 3 real world stories about people that have been affected by this cyber behavior.
Great post and links/images!
ReplyDelete