Self-Identity on the Internet: Catfish

            During the class discussion after my presentation, a classmate gave me the suggestion of viewing identity being hidden on social network sites. To further explore this, I decided to view a television show titled Catfish on MTV. The term Catfish is defined as an “online figure who pretends to be someone they are not by using someone else’s pictures and information.” The idea for the show is based on the documentary Catfish that came out a couple years ago. The documentary followed a photographer named Nev Schulman on his journey to meet a girl he he had met online. What ended up turning out was that Nev had fallen for a catfish. This documentary showed that through these social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, strangers are able to manipulate and convince others of their true identity.

            For this reason, Nev decided to create a television show that emulates his same journey. On each episode, Nev helps couples who have never met in life before meet for the first time. On the premiere episode, nursing student Sunny tells Nev about a model Jamsion that she met on Facebook. She tells Nev how they have been talking for 8 months, but have never Skyped or met face-to-face. Through some investigation, Nev was able to find out that Jamison lied about his other careers he mentioned to Sunny, as well as family members. Even though she was warned about this, Sunny still decided to go ahead and meet Jamison. What happened up happening was truly heartbreaking. It turned out that Jamison wasn’t in fact a model or man, but a girl named Chelsea. However, producers and creators of the show argue that not all stories end in heartbreak on the show. Producer of the show Tom Freeman argued that the television series has,"...stories of deception. We've also stumbled into some love stories. We found people who are exactly who they say they are. We are putting those on television, too. We find people who are willing to get past an initial deception and really do make a connection at the end — in person and in real life. That's been really heartwarming. So I think, when we set out, we really don't know how it's going to end: good, bad, or in the middle somewhere.”

            After viewing this television show, I am more inclined to focus my paper on self-identity on the Internet. It’s crazy how people can fall in love on the  Internet and come to find out they have been completely fooled. I’ve attached a clip about the show Catfish: the TV show below!