Online Dating is Like Walking in a Minefield

For sake of clarification, I’m going to assume that anyone reading this has watched the movie catfish.

Dating online has become a lot more reliable over time and now it is a viable way to find a partner. Back in 2008, when the movie was shot, it was a very fishy and sketchy way to find someone. Nowadays we have reverse google searches for searching images and tracing them back to their source, and we also have skype and facetime which help us prove that you are indeed the person that you claim to be online.

During the entire movie, all I could think about was all of the ways that we can now find people online and see if they are who they say they are. I was so curious to know why they did not try to google search Megan’s pictures and I found out that reverse google searching didn’t exist until 2011, but there surely had to be a easier way to debunk the situation, right? There probably was an easier way, but I feel like the group took the long way around so they could make money off of the movie. No one would pay attention to the movie if they would have just easily debunked the entire thing. Another question that the movie left unanswered was, how did the release of the movie impact the Angela’s life.

It is told that her husband, Vince, doesn’t know about the fake relationship that she had with Nev. So did Vince ever find out what her Angela had done? Did he personally watch the film? Was he informed about it through a friend or acquaintance? These kinds of questions are left unanswered and left to linger. Another thing that was brought to my mind was, did the “real Megan” ever find out about Abigail using her pictures to create a fake account to catfish someone? If so, is this illegal in any way? Faking to be someone else can be used in a way that can ruin the real person's career or relationships. This film could have not only affected her relationship with Vince, but with her relationship to the outside world. What if she attempts to try to get a job or date someone new and that person has seen the film. They would already have a preconceived notion about her without personally knowing her.

The films release brings up a lot of questions. Does the films release affect Angela negatively negatively and monetize on her mistake? Was there an easier way to find out if Angela and the family was faking it or did they do it the hard way to make a good film? These questions are going to stay unanswered and the only way to get the answers are to speak to the movies creators.