Catfishing Hurts the Catfish: The Dangers of Hiding Behind a Facade.

[zeitgeist057]

There was a recent "how do I look" question posted, where the asker stole a picture of a YouTuber and tried to catfish with it/pass it off as herself. Not only is it super ridiculous to ask "How do I look?" and post a picture of another person (the correct format would be "How does this person (who is not me) look?") . She even acted like she didn't know who Isa S. was when someone called her out about it.

Isa Subliminals

The YouTuber is above, Isa Subliminals.

I get it; you're not as physically attractive as you'd like to be, so you find someone beautiful like this and pretend it's you. Or you set your filters to look better. I know a few people who do this filter thing and guess what? You're not fooling anyone. Filters are as easy to spot as makeup, and the heavier it is, the easier to see.

So what's the harm? You're presenting something fake for approval. When you get that approval you're seeking, you're not actually getting approval. The approval is for Isa Subliminals in this example. No one is telling you you're beautiful, even if they don't see through the lie. They're telling you Isa is beautiful. You're still a catfish, unseen.

Yep, we see you in there!

I have a brother who does this on a certain level. He tells lies. All my other siblings are out of the house, leading their lives, getting careers. My brother is over 30 years old still living with his dad. Which is whatever, I still love him. But the problem is he doesn't own up to his own life. He tells lies about having work, having money, makes up stories about plans he's going to accomplish but never does. Meanwhile, he lives with his dad, does drugs and plays video games. Everyone knows what he does, but he won't admit it, he lies to try and make himself seem impressive, but it results in him being more pathetic. He's not fooling anyone, other than fooling himself into thinking he's fooling everyone else.

You hurt yourself, plus you also hurt the person whose identity you are stealing. People get upset when they find out others are misrepresenting them.

The point is though, that if you never show the world who you really are, you deny yourself the chance to be accepted for who you are. You are only generating acceptance for a lie. It's not healthy; humans need interaction with other humans where they get encouraged and seen for who they are. Not generating fake love for a facade. This is the basis of a lot of issues people have, when they have to put on a fake show for family during the holidays, or pretend to be someone they're not to feel accepted. Eventually all that comes crumbling down and turns into a breakdown. The bigger the facade, the bigger the break with reality, the more intense it becomes. For some people it can be as extreme as panic attacks, depression, or even suicide.

Be yourself. You can do it. Being someone else is dangerous and too hard anyway, and there is no real reward, only illusions.

[FictionalCharacter]

I’ve never catfish but have been catfish in the past. I do let people (especially guys) know I have dysmorphia and my photos are filtered. Yeah, guys have asked to see my real face and to be myself. That once they see me unfiltered, they ghost me. With this outcome, my goal is to get plastic surgery that will boost my confidence.

[SeekingVirginWife]

I enjoy finding out where people and their family members live from their real pictures. They become very scared when I personally contact them from their home addresses. :)

"I can sleep well knowing there is no boogie monster under my bed", said the catfish.

[kataang]

If catfishers take it too far, they can be arrested for fraud, defamation, and etc.

[handsomelad70]

That, ummm, pisces doesn't look like the late Yankees and A's Hall Of Fame right-hander Jim "Catfish" Hunter to me !!!

[princeofromance]

Catch a Catfish don't be a Catfish.