Let’s admit it: we enjoy watching the show Catfish. More specifically, we enjoy watching people get catfished. It’s interesting because most of us will probably maybe hopefully never experience it. As we watch these people get tricked, we judge them for not paying closer attention to who they talk to.
“This guy is so stupid. How did he not suspect anything sooner?”
(Record scratch) Wait, what even is catfish?
The term “catfish” was coined by Nev Schulman. He is the Executive Producer of the TV show Catfish (2012-present) on MTV, and is the main protagonist of the 2008 documentary Catfish. Catfishing refers to “pretending to be someone using false information.” The documentary follows Nev on his online romantic journey and how “Megan” isn’t who she said she was. Megan ends up being a mother in her 40s, who is raising two disabled sons and a younger daughter. Ouch.
Angela’s husband, Vince, tells a story of how when live cod were shipped to Asia, the fish turned into mush by the time they reached the destination. Fishermen decided to put catfish in the tanks to keep the cod active and ensure the quality of the fish. Vince indirectly made an analogy of how there are people in everyone's lives who keep each other active, always on their toes and always thinking, suggesting that people should always be alert while socializing through the internet. (Wikipedia)
As social media and technology become prevalent, more people hide behind pseudonyms and personas, making it difficult to trust. Should we even be pressed about it though?
People tend to blame social media for every issue in existence. To be honest, I don’t believe that social media is as negative as these old hags make it out to be. While there are other consequences to technology such as decreased attention span, I believe that social media is still too new to fully see the negatives. From my experiences, I think technology has actually improved communication and social abilities. Social media gives us a platform that allows us to speak what’s on our minds, even if we would never say it out loud. From these apps, jobs are created because of this ability to talk to people all over the world. While online dating may seem taboo, people have found their partners through these platforms.
Of course, there needs to be more precautions taken before getting romantically involved with a stranger, but this applies online and in person. It is your responsibility to not get too attached and if you do, well buddy, I just pray that you don’t end up on Catfish. We can’t control how other people express themselves online, even if it’s through deception. However, we can control our role in everyone’s identity crisis.
8 comments:
I love your title for this post! Very witty! As for your blog post, I also agree that social media isn't as bad as everyone makes it appear to be.
I definitely agree with you that the older generations seek to judge those who use social media. They also know that technology and the internet play a huge role in day to day lives but what they don't seem to fathom is how we rely socially on it as well in this day and age.
AshcashApril 14, 2018 at 11:45 PM
Overall, your idea is pretty legitimate with the precautions people should take when dating online. Although, where you state social media is not negative I have to disagree because it is negative. It makes us less of a human than we are because we lack communication because of technology. Also, video games like Grand theft Auto and Call of duty makes kids more aggressive and violent. Furthermore, you believe technology increases communication skills but do you take in consideration about kids being able to learn at school coming home from being in front of a television (technological device) all day and coming to school to printed press and they are confused cause they are unsure what it is . I know many kids that focuses a lot on technology, and lacks learning capabilities cause they are distracted by new technology. If you place a source of technology in front of a kid they’ll reach for it instead of going to play with other kids or participating in learning activities.
I love the title and I also agree that you do need to be careful when dating someone from online you can never know what you are getting yourself into
@Ashcash i get what your saying! i was referring to social abilities on social media, and how people are able to network and meet others with similar interests. i definitely should've clarified that in my post
I agree with your thoughts about the older generations and social media. Social media can be a great way to meet people but some people do abuse it. I think when you are taking on an online relationship that you definitely need to be more caution about what you say to someone and how attached you get to them before confirming their existence.
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