Why is it Called Being Catfished?

The term we now use to describe impersonating someone on the internet to deceive someone else and lure them into a romantic relationship was first coined as the title to a documentary. Catfish the documentary was made in 2010 and directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. The film follows Ariel's brother, Yaniv (Nev) Schulman, as he meets a girl online and falls in love with her only to track her down and find out that she never really existed.

Catfish documentary plot

(SPOILER ALERT) The whole story begins when Nev, a photographer in New York City, is sent a painted picture by an 8-year-old girl named Abby of one of his photos. Joost and Schulman decide to document Nev's correspondence with Abby, believing they were witnessing the start of a child prodigy's career. Through their correspondence, Nev becomes Facebook friends with Abby's mother, Angela, and further extends to Abby's father, brother, and older sister Megan. Nev and Megan start talking more and more, over instant messenger and on the phone, and their conversations become increasingly intimate.

Megan's identity begins to unravel when she sends Nev a recording of herself singing a cover song. Nev discovers the mp3 of the cover she sent him was taken from another website. When Nev confronts Megan about it, she becomes evasive and logs off her account. The whole thing seems fishy (pardon the pun), so the whole crew flies to Michigan to meet the family. Nev meets Abby and finds out that she doesn't paint at all. In fact, the paintings were done by Angela. After intense discussions and interrogations, Angela admits that she set up a fake Facebook profile and phone number pretending to be Megan and used pictures from a model's profile.

(To find out if someone is using your pictures to catfish, be sure to read this OneHowTo article.)

After confronting Angela, Nev discovers the whole story. Angela had more than a dozen fake Facebook profiles using strangers' pictures. She owned two mobile phones. The crew finds out that when Angela married her husband, Vince, she sacrificed her art career and social life to look after their two disabled sons. She admits she created fake profiles to make friends and create relationships.

Angela's story is a compelling reminder of the complexities of online interactions. After this revelation, the crew returns to New York, Angela deletes the Facebook profiles, and begins to pursue her career as an artist once again. Interestingly, Nev and Angela reportedly remain in contact, showcasing the nuanced nature of human relationships.

The title Catfish was coined after something Angela's husband Vince said. He was talking of how cod fish were shipped from Alaska to China, stored in vats on the ship. But the cod would become tired and lazy, and by the time they arrived, their flesh was "mushy and tasteless." So, Vince says, they began to put catfish in the vats to keep the cod agile. Vince says,

"And there are those people who are catfish in life. And they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh. And I thank god for the catfish because we would be droll, boring and dull if we didn't have someone nipping at our fin."

The crew interpreted Vince as meaning that Angela was like the catfish. Metaphorically, catfish (like Angela) keep the cod (people on the internet) on their toes when it comes to dealing with people online. This metaphor highlights the unpredictability and intrigue associated with human interactions, particularly in virtual spaces.

After the documentary's success, MTV launched Catfish the TV series which deals with the truth and lies of online relationships. On the show, Nev and his partner Max help people meet and confront the person they have entered into an online relationship with. The popularity of the television series has since catapulted the term catfish into mainstream jargon.

Beyond simply entertaining, the show serves as a cautionary tale about the complexities and potential pitfalls of online relationships. It emphasizes the importance of verifying identities and being cautious about whom you trust on the internet. Such reminders are increasingly relevant in a world where digital interactions are as common as face-to-face ones.

In the English language, the word catfish is officially recognized in dictionaries, first as a type of fish with a large head and what look like cat whiskers on its body, but also as a person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes.

The word's inclusion in English dictionaries just goes to show Angela's deceptive behavior, like so many before and so many after her, has created a new word that we now use to describe deceptive behavior on the Internet.

This phenomenon underscores the evolving nature of language, particularly how new societal behaviors can lead to the creation of new terms. The term 'catfish' serves as a reminder of the importance of authenticity and caution in the digital age. As online interactions continue to increase, understanding and being aware of such terms becomes essential for navigating the virtual world safely and effectively.

If you want to read similar articles to Why is it Called Being Catfished?, we recommend you visit our Culture & Society category.