Does anyone know what a "catfish"is? I was watching a show about this. It is about people who make up personas for forums. Mostly it is on dating sites and the catfish uses fake names, profile pictures and start relationships with people under false pretences. Usually the fakers are just lonely people with low self esteem who do not think people will really like the real them so they make themselves prettier, more educated, with better jobs and more lofty hobbies and talents. But it got me thinking. Do we have any catfish here? And if we do should we care?
What if , hypothetically, I found out we did. Hypothetically what if I was bored with a bad cold and googled some posters on here and found out that we have our very own catfish? HYPOTHETICALLY. Would you want to know? Would it matter? What of I did , hypothetically, out the catfish and the poor people were so distraught that it caused them much emotional pain? Maybe these people are just really lonely. Who cares if they really are not caregivers. Right? But what if these same catfish sometimes wrote hurtful things on here. Would that change the situation any? Or is it still not anyone's place to out them. HYPOTHETICALLY. I mean we all embellish some, right? Maybe I am not such a good person with my Mom as I write. Should I be outted?
This was a by interesting show and there is also a documentary of anyone is interested. It is called-Catfish.
I would really like to know what one would do if they, hypothetically, discovered a catfish. Please.
If someone is saying hurtful things to others, we pretty well police that ourselves and also have the option of reporting the hurtful post with a single click. It doesn't really matter whether the hurtful poster is a genuine caregiver or an imposter. Nasty comments get lots of feedback and can eventually get the poster kicked off.
If I knew for sure that someone claiming to take care of both parents and making nasty comments to other was really a college student who doesn't even call her parents except for money I would be inclined to report that to the site administrator, but I wouldn't go out of my way to track that down.
It is an interesting topic. Not one I'd lose any sleep over on this particular board, though.
I wouldn't worry too much.
So, two votes for who cares. Interesting! Good to know. Thanks Capnhardass!! You actually make a good point. In fact that is the basis behind the term catfish. This documentary filmmaker talks with the husband of the lady who was portraying herself as a young single beautiful woman and the guy goes "on fishing boats that catch cod the cod was dying in the barrels because they would not swim around once captured. So they added catfish. The catfish make the cod swim, they are the catalysts" or something like that -I paraphrased. IOW these catfish keep things lively.
So three for not to worry. Thanks Tony!! But , really, I was more interested in not, do you think there is a catfish but rather, if there is would that be OK. But still good answer!
wait, this isnt the anger management group. never mind..
Some people do post their own pictures. Some people post a picture of the person they are caring for. (Wish I knew which was which sometimes.) Some people post a picture of something they like, and many people don't post a picture at all.
Does it matter?
Is it me or not? Good question. You can do a google image search and see if I snatched it off of another site . But I didn't . You'll have to trust me :0)
Has anyone seen that movie/documentary yet? Or the TV series that followed it. The movie was really interesting but GET THIS--- now there is speculation that the movie itself is a hoax! Well, sorta. The documentary is supposed to be the real life , real time experience of this guy named Nev ( who my husband says I have a crush on--do not. ;0) who falls in love with this beautiful 20 something girl on line only to find out it is a 40 something ( oh, the horror -an OLD forty something- I am 41 hee hee) woman who is married with 2 children with severe disabilities. Some people say the whole thing is staged others say Nev picked up that the woman was not who she says from the get go and decided to string her along and film it and others say it is a true documentary. I think it is probably staged some but, overall, a true story.
I once convinced a whole room of peers-teenagers from a town I did not live in-that I was Amish. They were making fun of the Amish people that lived near them. And I was getting mad so I turned to my friend and said-"go with this" and I told them how I was Amish and met my friend and how she would meet me and I would change at her house and then go out. They totally bought it!! The whole party got quiet and was listening to me - at first it started out as a conversation between me and the two or three guys that were cracking on the Amish. Then everyone stopped what they were doing and started asking me all kinds of questions!!! I had to think fast. I got myself in pretty deep!!!! LOL . All I wanted to do was make those few guys feel bad for saying such judgy things and I ended up practically do a presentation on life as an Amish teen! Thank goodness I took acting lessons!!
Maybe that is what happens. Someone comes on to a forum or a comments section of an article to answer and posts something not quite true to make a point and then has to build on that and defend that lie with another and pretty soon they are a whole different person. I hope that , if there were a catfish, that person would know that they are a valuable person without the subterfuge. That honesty is better. That being an expert is not always a good thing. That using pictures of someone that is not you is wrong, on any forum or social website. Hypothetically speaking.
I have read a few posts that made my jaw drop, but mostly in a way that I could not imagine anyone taking the crap they do here, think it's "normal" and the caregiver posts that they go through WWIII and are so thankful to be doing it. BS!!! Now I'm running out of the house screaming pulling my hair out! Not really. Am I a catfish?
There are so many interactive forums on the internet, I can't imagine why someone would find this particular forum an interesting place to troll. But like others have said, there probably are some trolls on here as there are everywhere on the internet.
Beth, Hi, welcome to the forum!!! I am so glad you made your way to the forum. I hope this thread doesn't bother you! This is a nice place overall and a great place to vent and get advice!! Yes, with the Internet it would be hard to stay hidden. I did not use my real name on here-but a nickname as I did not want to talk about my Mom's mental and physical disabilities and have it come back to her real identity through me. But I did get comfortable and post a real picture of me but it had not been used anywhere but here. IDK. It is a brave new world in many ways.
Love your picture. Very pretty. I like when posters use their own picture because I like to "see" the person I am "talking "too. But I got sick of seeing my own face. Haha.
I am like Christina, I have held back some of my details because they're too painful and hurtful to even imagine I lived them but I have unfortunately. Trolls or not, I enjoy coming here.
Equillot-WOW- I guess I would be flattered but kinda freaked out. You hottie you!!!! Love your picture too!!!!