Social media and the internet can be one of the most hostile and devastating places teens can be apart of in our generation!
Many teens feel they aren’t pretty or handsome enough or willing to show enough skin in there pictures to be able to enjoy social media! This then means many can have low self esteem and the only way to deal with it is to create an ‘alter ego’ or a second self normally using someone else’s identity!
While this can make them feel happier and they enjoy the extra attention they often, normally without realising, neglect the person on the other end of that message’s feelings!
The recipient of the messages can left feeling heart broken and used as well as possibly having some trust issues as they get older and in future relationships! No one should ever be put in a position where they feel like this due to someone lying about their identity, despite this there are 1000s of fake profiles on all social media sites whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MeowChat or tumblr! All of these social media outlets will have people who use fake profiles to make friends or even to find people who could be more than friends!
There are some possible ‘telltale signs’ that you are being catfished; most people have skype or FaceTime on there phones, iPads or computer so if they are unable to video chat it should come at a surprise! Especially if you’ve been talking for a long period of time.
If you have been talking for a long period of time you would think they’d age so if you’ve been talking for years and in there pictures they haven’t changed one bit that may be a sign that they could be fake and just stealing others photos!
Other signs include:
-Less than 100 friends on Facebook
-Don’t like phone calls
-Claims to be a model
-Visits don’t pan out, last minute cancellations
-Can’t get a physical address
Don’t worry there are ways in which you can protect yourself from a possible catfish!
You can simply search there full name! Whether this be on Facebook, google, Instagram! If you see something potentially ‘fishy’ or nothing at all that could be a bad sign!
The best one off all is to ALWAYS give yourself a time limit! If your talking to someone who has yet to prove they are 100% who they claim to be give yourself an amount of time before you just say “no” whether it’s a week, a month or even a year! Just make sure you have a cut off point so you don’t get too hurt if they are fake!
Don’t forget to like, follow and re-blog if you enjoyed and leave a comment if you’ve ever encountered a catfish or if you are a catfish, maybe you’d like to give your side!
thefaceofastranger 