Facebook... Where The Catfish Run Rampant

            For as long as the Internet has been accessible to the public, people have been using it to communicate with one another. Whether it be just talking to a family member/friend, chatting with someone new that you just met, or talking to a complete stranger that is thousands of miles away, the Internet can help be your communication channel. Recently, one of the biggest places where people get together on the Internet to communicate is Facebook. Facebook has been around for approximately a decade now and has helped to connect the world in ways that no one had previously ever imagined. Facebook has in-depth profiles and features that help people to really get a feel for the person that they are talking to, however, this can be a double-edged sword. There are obvious benefits that come from all of the features that Facebook offers, but there are also cons. People have been exploiting these features to create faux profiles that make it seem as though they are someone that they are not. The act of creating a fake profile to communicate with someone is called cat-fishing.

            As many people have noticed, mostly due to the MTV show Catfish, people have been duping others on Facebook and various social networking sites for years now. These catfish create profiles that represent someone who they believe is appealing, and begin to communicate with others for many reasons. Some people catfish because they fall in love with someone, but fear that there real self is not good enough. Others catfish just to ruin peoples lives, e.g. Manti Teo and many others that have been featured on Catfish. Either way, cat-fishing can be detrimental to both the person getting fooled and the catfish, so be on the lookout next time you are chatting with a stranger online.

            Some ways to prevent cat-fishing can be identified in the article titled, 9 Tips For Identifying Fake Online Profiles. This article gives 9 tips on how to make sure that you are not getting fooled into a relationship with someone who is not who they say they are. Some of these tips include, to 'be wary of profiles whose photos of "themselves" are pictures of models', or to 'be aware of profiles that have few pics at all'. Another useful tip to catch a catfish is to be aware of profiles that do not have much activity with friends, and in fact, profiles that have fewer than the normal amount of friends (which is around 130). This article really brings to light the facts of fake profiles on Facebook and can help someone who is possibly in denial about being cat-fished.

            In my personal opinion, I think that it is ludicrous that people put so much trust into those that they have met on Facebook and other social media sites. After everything that has come to light about  getting tricked on Facebook, people are still continuing to have relationships with users that they have never even met, and in fact, have only seen in a handful of pictures. Some people have even given large amounts of money to these people that they meet, that is ridiculous to me. My final stance on Facebook and cat-fishing is that if you have any doubt that the person that you are talking with is not who they say they are, then you are most likely correct.