Online dating is a modern way to meet other people and more and more individuals have found success in finding their true love. You may have heard a lot of love story that started online, which can be quite unbelievable at first. But these kinds of romance do happen, they actually really exist. Online dating is undoubtedly an exceptional way to meet awesome people that share common interests. If and only IF, you are not Catfished.
So what is a Catfish?
The “Catfish“phenomenon rooted from an extraordinary 2010 documentary that resulted in a sensational TV show. And No, it is not the one that swims in the waters that end up on a dinner plate, it’s the human variety. Catfish is a person who creates false identities, luring vulnerable individuals into deceitful online relationships with the intent of duping people.
It is heartbreaking to know that there are these kinds of people who not only victimize others for fraud, power tripping, revenge and the like. But they play with human emotion, which is more hurtful,if you come to think of it. Their motives are quite unclear, but psychologists say that catfishes suffer from self esteem issues. Thus, to compensate, they create fake identities.
Catfishing can happen only if you let it. Don’t let this phenomenon stop you from engaging in the wonderful world of online dating. You’ll be missing a lot if you let Catfishing get into you. Worry not, while there are worst kinds of people, there are better ones that can be your potential match. All you have to do is be aware of the red flags and know what to do to avoid being catfished.
Red Flags!
- Watch out for evasive actions. If the person of your interest has quite a few photos in their profile and constantly avoiding the topic of meeting you personally, then you might be catsified or if not, most probably that person is trying to hide something or someone for that matter, so be wary.
- Be on the lookout for exaggerated stories. As what was mentioned, a catfish has a self esteem issues so to compensate, they make up exaggerated life stories of their dream life. Sometimes there are inconsistencies in their stories and may sound a little bit ridiculous. You’re smart, I know you’ll notice these kinds of things.
- Request for a video call or any proof of identity. However, be mindful of their feelings, you can explain how you heard some stories about Catfishing and the like, and you just want to be careful. Besides, a relationship built on trust and honesty is meant to progress to a worthwhile bond between two lovers.
Final Thought!
Online dating is a great big world. Just like in real life, we encounter different kinds of people. We all have choices, but those choices come with consequences. Whether you choose to date online or offline, you have to be smart enough to know a person first before you invest a lot of emotions. It is your heart we are talking about, so don’t let anyone who’s unworthy break it.