A phenomenological study on catfishing

• Main Authors: Kim, Sang Ah, Gutierrez, Eduardo Agraam, Jr., De Pedro, Ninna Francesca, Co, Jose Antonio
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: Catfishing; Deception; Online identities; Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/5766
• Institution: De La Salle University

Catfishing is a type of online deception where an individual creates a fake identity of multiple identities in order to deceive other people into forming emotional or romantic relationships with them or for any other motivation. According to the interpersonal deception theory (IDT), deception occurs interdependently and fluidly between and among people who interact and communicate with each other. Studies on catfishing are minimal, and data on catfishing relies heavily on the testimonials of the victims of catfishing, with only a TV series called Catfish: the TV Show and blog posts from self-proclaimed catfishes being the only information at present time on catfishing. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), the researchers extracted the essence of catfishing, what one feels during and after the act, and what catfishing means for someone who does it. In line with the IDT, catfishes make use of careful information dissemination and regulation in order to maintain the relationship deception.