At one point and time in history the world ‘catfish’ didn’t have the same meaning that it does now. The word was used in regards to the disgusting bottom-feeders that are caught in rivers and lakes and fried up in some parts of the country, remember? They’ve been a delicacy to some and simply disgusting to others, but the word didn’t take on a new meaning until this show came around. Now, to ‘catfish’ someone means that a person online will tell a heap of lies directed by small truths in order to fool someone over a dating site. That’s the definition more or less, but the idea of it is just flat out creepy. What that means is that gorgeous person you’re supposedly talking to online could be someone that might turn your stomach or could be inherently dangerous if you ever met them in person. MTV decided that it would be beneficial to send two men out to call these online phonies on their lies and set the matter right for those that had been catfished. In the beginning the show actually seemed to make some sense considering that it was out to keep people from getting into trouble of any sort by exposing the liars for who they were.
But is it still working? Or is it time for this show to just fold up its tents and finally go away?
Fade out soon enough and you’re a hero, stick around too long and you might become the villain.
This is a different version of a very popular saying since it’s very true. In the beginning of the show back in 2012 Catfish was a show that was dedicated to exposing the liars and saving those that had been tricked by them from making a very bad mistake. It was almost noble in a way for the two men on the show to go and expose these people since it granted the idea that catfishers were finally being made to pay for the things they were doing. But the problem with this is that by the time one has done any good for those they’re standing up for it’s been seen that those same people are finally starting to learn and to spread the word to others about what’s going on and what they can do to avoid being stuck in the same predicament. It’s then possible for the guys that started the movement to simply step away and let people sort things out for themselves. But MTV didn’t want to do that obviously. Instead they kept renewing the show, not changing the format nearly enough to make it worth watching and sending the guys on one journey after another to expose catfishers all over the place. Unfortunately after a while this makes them look like they’re simply trying to henpeck anyone and everyone they can rather than let people fend for themselves and thereby grow as people.
People have a way of getting attention no matter what they have to do.
Ever seen how Teen Mom affected teen pregnancies? It might not have hit epidemic levels, but some young women actually did get pregnant in an attempt to get on the show. So it’s reasonable to think that enough people have seen Catfish and might have thought that it was a good idea to go ahead and create a fake online persona in order to get someone’s attention so that they could get on the show and get their few minutes of fame. That’s not only a huge waste of resources but it’s a glory-grabbing moment that undermines the whole idea of the show since the more people that decide to do this, the less effective it becomes when the network has to parse out which cases are real and which ones are phony. It’s hard to treat any of them as fake since there’s no real telling just what’s going on until a person gets there and sees what there is to see. On thing is clear though, the copycats that just want to get on TV are yet another reason why this show needs to be taken off since the show has inspired them to do this based on the belief that they’ll be shown onscreen. It’s a pathetic stab at being on TV, but a lot of people will take it.
Right now the argument would be that the show is still working as it’s goal is being met. But the counter could easily be that no, it’s not working thanks to the efforts of so many that want attention and those that are willing to do anything to get it. As of now it seems like a good idea to just take the show off the air as catfishing, while still a problem, is not worth the attention or the notice that’s been given to it as of late.
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