Living a Lie

In the documentary Catfish, Angela fabricated an entire new life in order to build a romantic relationship between her and Nev. I understand that she felt trapped and lonely, but she had choices in her life that she made that got her to the place where she was at. No one was forcing her to be in the situation that she was in. Being sad and not satisfied with her life choices does not justify her ruining someone else's life. I understand that she needed and outlet, but pretending to be someone that she is not is just crossing the line. I feel like maybe it started out as something innocent, but just escalated too quickly and instead of stopping it, she let it get to an unhealthy point. It was unhealthy to begin with, but to bring in children to try and prove her lie shows that she is mentally unstable. I think that many people do relate with Angela though. Catfishing happens everyday and these people just want an outlet. They want something new and instead of going out and doing it themselves, they decide to hide behind a computer and create a dream life that they are unable to fulfill. I think it is cowardly in a way because instead of working towards a better life these people just accept their situation and then start a new life without thinking of the effects that it may have with everyone involved. These situations always start off as innocent, but it is way easier to start then to stop so it is just better to not start at all. I really do not think that catfishing can be justified when it involves pursuing someone romantically. People must realize that the truth is going to come out the deeper and deeper the relationship gets and everyone is going to be hurt in the end. It is just better for people to learn how to love themselves and their own lives. I know it is easier said than done, but people cannot take advantage of other people just because they themselves are unsatisfied. In class we discussed if this was different than portraying a perfect life on social media and I think it is because even though people try to show their "perfect life" there is always some truth in their posts. Posting a flattering angle for a selfie is different then stealing a picture off of the internet. Yes both may look different in person, but one will obviously be drastically different and this drastic different is the same in describing both of these situations.