On "Catfish" and the Morality of Similar Actions

In the documentary Catfish, we see the story of a young man unravelling the complex lie a woman has woven to get close to him. He originally believed he was talking to a young child, an older teenager, and the mother of these two girls, as well as having some contact with several other people online. As he investigates, we discover that he has even been having a relationship with the nineteen-year-old. He eventually discovers that these people have really been one woman, who continued to lie even after she had been found out. Having been caught out, she claims she did what she did because of how unfulfilling her life is; how she never got to follow so many of her dreams. She even goes as far as to blame her own step-sons, saying that their handicaps have stopped her as well, and using a slur towards one of them while he was clearly within hearing distance. Angela’s dissatisfaction with how her life has turned out is understandable. However, this is completely of her own making, and there would have been better ways of making her life more enjoyable than lying to a stranger on the internet to get attention.

One might even say that Angela was secretly cheating on her husband with Yaniv, as she had been having an affair with him as “Megan”, and telling her husband that she was receiving money from Yaniv when she wasn’t.

Another moral issue with Angela’s deceit was bringing her young daughter into it. She had her elementary-school aged child lying for her, pretending to know a strange man she’s never really met. What kind of message did this send to the girl, to have her mother encouraging lying for her own personal gain?

Although Angela’s reasons for wanting to Catfish are understandable and even warrant some sympathy, the damage caused by her actions are inexcusable. She harmed her children, her husband, and Yaniv with her lies.

So, Angela was in the wrong for catfishing in her situation. Does this mean that catfishing in general is morally wrong? Angela’s husband claims that people like her benefit humanity by keeping life more interesting. I don’t believe this is true. Occasionally a person will have a good reason to lie about themselves on the internet, such as for safety reason or even just privacy. But once the lie is taken so far that it hurts someone, then I would say that it is morally wrong. There is no excuse for hurting another person for no reason other than your own enjoyment.