Catfish Research Paper

Modern man has other obligations to fulfill other than his own, as society also makes demands of each of us. This causes the person to attempt to further suppress the id from public view. Most

How many Facebook friends do you have, and how many of those friends have you spoken to in the past week, month, or even year? Are there any people that you follow on Instagram whom you’ve never introduced yourself to? The answers may come as a surprise. The use of social media makes it effortless to connect with friends and family. However, it also allows us to to catch a glimpse the lives of those we’re never met. Depending on how much information is shared on one’s profile, it can allow a person to determine enough about them to consider them a friend. Conversely, those people who have never met you have access to all of your information that you allow “friends” on Facebook to see. This is an alarming discovery, especially considering that the concept of “catfishing” (creating a fake profile online and pretending to be someone

“In Defense of Masks”, by Kenneth Gergen regards that it is not possible for humans to adequately find a coherent self identity without an aftermath. Gergen states, “to the extent that they do, they many experience severe emotional distress” when trying to do so (172). He refers to Erik Erickson, a psychologist who speaks about how self-alienation can result due to the pressures of society to individuals with various masks of identity.

Sometimes things are not as they seem. People often choose to hide their true self in hopes to protect themselves from the wrath of others.

Criminals hide their own identity online; they can also steal yours -- or at least

Social media is causing problems towards finding people and trying to make them their friend, which is creating fake people. Dating sites, Instagram, Snapchat, and many other social sites can have people hide themselves and say their someone they aren't to lure in victims to sex trafficking. Said by safety sites, a sex trafficker can be anyone you know, it could be anyone in your community, they target younger, in terms of social media, because they aren't as smart and could be depressed or vulnerable and need someone there for them. They talk to these victims through a relationship, to hope to meet in person and do what they set out for from the start. They scout who they are looking for, then they promise things in the relationship, manipulate, and then trap whoever they are out after [Internet Safety 101]. Social media also brung in the idea of providing information on where all your “friends” are on some sites or apps so you know exactly where they are. Snapchat has introduced a bit ago the feature to be able to see where someone is based on the last time they were on Snapchat, and for some people, someone could basically track them. The problem these days have people really worry about who is around and doesn't let anyone see some accounts, so put them on private, because there's to

“We all have a social mask, right? We put it on, we go out, put our best foot forward, our best image. But behind that social mask is a personal truth, what we really, really believe about who we are and what we're capable of.” Sometimes people can use mask’s to change how they look, feel, and what they think. Everyone has their own mask that they use so that other people do not judge them on who they are. People also mask themselves if they do not think they meet any standards that other people have. It is more beneficial than harmful to mask yourself.

Outside influences have a strong capability to influence and alter our personal identity. Both directly and indirectly, the social contexts in which we live can change the way we think and feel, and by extension how we interact with other people and places. Immediate family, friendship groups and the physical environment are all factors which contribute to our ever changing perceptions of ourselves. Sometimes personal identity can be subtly reshaped over a gradual time frame, as our sense of who we are is modified without personal recognition that we are changing. At other times we may be able to notice our personal identity changing, through important life decisions.

As a person goes through their life, they encounter many choices and options. The most obvious ones are what they will wear, eat, or do for each day of their life. Everything that they do, even the most simple decisions, can and will impact them and who they are as a person. This will become a part of their identity. However, as the social beings humans are, their identities can be effected by those around them, virtually and physically. Most especially, every person’s identity is affected by the opinions and thoughts of others which can be expressed online, through verbal comments, and body language. This causes each person to question themselves and attempt to view themselves from the eyes of others. And when people question their identities

Interactions between people are never ending. The effects of one conversation could affect the outcome of that person’s life, consequently changing their identity completely. There comes a time, though, when dealing with others confident in their identities, where one must ask themselves the personal question of “who am I?”. No matter if you’ve just stumbled upon this question, in the process of discovering the answer, consistently changing your answer, or confident in your answer, the people around you are the ones you have to thank for molding your personal identity.

A “catfish” is a person who creates a fake profile or profiles on social media and pretend to be someone that they are not, getting deep feeling or pity from the other party. In Catfish, people send emails to Nev Schulman and his filmmaker buddy Max Joseph, telling them they are stuck in an online relationship with someone they have been talking to for months or even years. They don’t know exactly who they are and haven’t seen their face in real life and want to meet them in person, which is where Nev and Max come in. Nev and Max then track down the person, leading them to the two people to meet in the flesh for the first time. Some of the results were the catfisher was not the person from the profile pictures because they were afraid of their own appearance. Some of them were just using and manipulating the other party to get what they want and some of them were the real deal. Nev says in an interview for the website Zap2it,”we find these two people who, either on the same side or opposite sides of an issue, have been working at understanding themselves better or hiding from themselves or afraid to deal with something. And the issues that we've uncovered are an incredible cross sample of issues that young people are dealing with right now. Things like self-esteem, weight and obesity, people who are uncertain of or afraid of accepting their sexuality." Like what Nev said, these

In today's time there are many people hide behind a screen with a fake identity just to live the life they never had. While doing this they end up catfishing someone who does not deserve to be treated that way. According to the Merriam Webster, instead of just being some type of fish it has another definition that refers to “a person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes”(Webster) what tends to throw people off is the fact that the account looks so real, “A ‘catfisher’ may choose to use their own photos yet pretend to be a different age, sex, profession, in a different location, and be single when they are not. A catfisher can also use someone else's photos to create their fake

There are three options an individual must face when presented with this pre-made identity. The individual can accept this identity as his/her own. This would maximize the individuals acceptance into society, but at a considerable price. The individual would lose power, become exploitable, suppress and consequently lose his/her own "true identity," and then would become one of many faces in the crowd. The

In 2006, Megan Meier, a Missouri teen, committed suicide after a fake account made by an adult male befriended her on Facebook, initiated a relationship, and broke up with her (Hawkins). There are many cases similar to this where people change their identity online to accomplish goals. Megan was involved in a “Catfish” where the befriended profile formed a relationship under a false name. These are possibly the most common crime when it comes to changing your identity. There is even

There are dangers of online communication such as social networks where users can lie about who they are [4]“Megan thought she was being abused by 16-year-old Josh Evans, she was actually talking to Lori Drew, the 49-year-old mother of one of her former friends who, it is alleged, had set up a fake profile to taunt Megan.” in social networking sites it is very easy for people to