Catfish: The TV Show

I see reviews on this site where posters say the show is "fake" without providing any proof. I see reviews where posters say you must be stupid if you are the victim of one of these scams.

The fact remains that people do sometimes invest their emotions in exclusively online relationships.

Online technology is so new and it brings new dimensions in relating to others. One of the most important aspects of online communication is the factor of anonymity. We have all seen the trolls that visit this site and others. We have witnessed the anti-social behavior of some gamers who use their anonymity to escape responsibility for their actions. It should be no surprise that bad behavior can manifest whenever anonymity is part of the formula.

"Catfish" has shown--unsurprisingly--that the victims are usually people who are emotionally needy, sometimes desperate. The world (real and virtual) is full of people who have trouble fitting in, who are dealing with emotional issues, who have a personal history that makes them vulnerable. They reach out. And sometimes they find an unscrupulous person.

"Catfish" has also shown that the perpetrators are also damaged people. The first episode of the second season was a prime example. The catfish was someone who had been bullied. She was striking out as a way to make herself feel better.

The human psychology is interesting. These cases serve as warnings for those who might become victims. And the show reminds us that behind all of those anonymous names and avatars exist real people. Every one of them has his own problems. Nev and Max, who are the on-camera hosts, do their best to inject humanity into the proceedings. Their objective is not to ridicule or belittle, unlike some other shows. They attempt to connect with and understand every victim and every catfish.

Surprisingly, the cases they get involved with are very diverse. The catfish might be a lonely person or a scammer. It might be an older lady or a person of an unexpected gender. I don't know how long they can mine this phenomenon, but so far it is entertaining and useful.

These two California cuckoo birds are catfishing everyone who takes this show seriously. I suppose it can be entertaining if you accept the fact that this is likely staged television. I read that Schulman was expelled from Sarah Lawrence College. That story is probably more interesting than this dreadful show is.

I used to like this show until the hosts started using it to push their democratic agenda down viewers throats, with the T-shirts they wear.

I seriously doubt that Nev ever wears any/most of these shirts outside of the house/studio, it's clearly just for SHOW.

SO FAKE

In fairness, there were a few episodes early on that actually were interesting. Now it's just a combination of obvious clout chasers, product placement literally everywhere, and the show using people who appear to be genuinely ill.

They spend the opening of the episode "investigating" (in other words, searching the same internet that the "victims" presumably have access to). They speculate and brew some drama before setting up a meeting with the "catfish." The first encounter is usually more hostile so they take a break, then come back with something along the lines of...

"How did you get here? What made you do this? Tell us your deepest, darkest secrets. We care."

*catfish shares horrid story of woe and despair, usually accompanied by tears*

"Mmhmm, mhmm....terrible.... Ok well, bye!"

*Catfish crew leave, high-fiving each other about what good people they are.*

It has the train-wreck entertainment value of Jerry Springer, but unlike Springer, there's this really pompous, holier than thou attitude. They really seem to want to convince you that they "care" about these people they're exploiting.

What actually made me write a review was catching a few episodes of the latest season, where they've gone completely virtual. They're now making an entire television show of people literally just sitting at their computers arguing about ridiculous drama.

It's slightly hilarious, pretty sad, mildly creepy and extremely bizarre.

When I was in high-school, I accidently met a girl online while playing an internet role playing game titled IMVU. We ended up talking and eventually dating which eventually led to me driving out to meet her, she lived in Maryland while I lived in Pennsylvania. That experience makes Catfish all the more engaging for me to watch as I can Relate to alot of the emotions that are being felt by people that are going through these events! I've felt the nerves, I've felt the doubt, and I've felt the love that you can feel simply from talking to someone online. If you don't have this type of experience you may not understand or connect the show as much but it is definitely a great service to help these people get that little push towards meeting who they believe they are in love with and onto of that, makes for a great reality TV series.