Catfishing: What is REAL?

     In this day and age, the lines of technology and morality blur together and make it difficult to ascertain what is moral in the terms of computers and the internet.  Catfishing is a hot topic in the discussion of technological morality.  Is it ever right to pretend to be another person online?  Where do we draw the line on this pretend persona?  These are questions that can be tricky to answer.
     For example, if I create a new Instagram account under the name "Alex Cooper" and create a whole new personality to go along with it, is that when it becomes morally wrong?  Does it become morally wrong when I begin chatting with my followers as "Alex"?  Or does it become morally wrong when I decide to add the pictures of an attractive girl I follow on my REAL Instagram account?  If you were to ask a group of people these questions, I bet everyone would have a different opinion.
     What if I create a "fake" Instagram account using pictures of an attractive girl to follow my other half in an attempt to see if he will cheat on me?  Throughout the years, I've known several people (both men and women) who have used this "catfishing" as a ploy to out unfaithful partners.  Is it morally wrong to do this if they ONLY create the fake profile to chat with their other half?  Or is it morally wrong to even create the profile in the first place?
     Personally, I have no desire in meeting people and creating online relationships.  I met my fiance in high school nearly 13 years ago (don't ask how old I am) and prefer having a REAL physical human to share my life with.  However, I can understand the appeal of meeting someone via the internet.  My sister met her other half of 10 years online through a social media (not dating) website.  They dated online for 4 years before deciding to meet in person.  Craig, the man in question, booked plane tickets and set the dates for his trip.  The entire way to airport for my sister was hell.  She was panicking, wondering if Craig was who he said he was, whether he would find her as attractive in real life, and whether she had made the worst mistake of her life inviting him to visit.  However, the man who walked through the gates at the airport was in fact the man from the pictures, and the man she had fallen in love with.  They ran into each other's arms and cried tears of happiness.  Craig visits us twice a year now, staying with us for three months out of the year.  Not only is he my sister's fiance, he's my best friend and I love when he comes to visit.  This story proves that not everyone is out to trick one another online.  However, there are some tricks people suggest to finding out if your online friend is really who they say they are.

1. Will they webcam with you?  If they repeatedly make excuses and refuse to get on cam, or will only cam with you in a dark room, chances are they might not be who they say they are.
2. Google image search their pictures.  It's very easy these days to drag a picture into google images and see where the photos are coming from.  If there are several profiles with those pictures on it, chances are they might not be who they say there are.
3. Ask them to make you a sign, or take a very specific picture. Have them write your name on a piece of paper and hold it up in a picture, or if that doesn't calm your nerves, have them take a silly picture.  For example, there was a "thing" going around for a while where people were asking one another to take pictures with shoes on their heads to prove they were who they said they were.

     These are just some ways to figure out if who you know online is who they say they are.  Always remember to be careful, never send money to anyone you haven't met in real life, and never share personal information or pictures with someone you haven't met in real life.  It's difficult to know who is real and who is fake in the world of the internet.