[Ads-l] Slang Sense of "Catfishing"

[Ben Zimmer]

Please, please, please do not use Bard, ChatGPT, or any other generative AI
chatbot for this type of word research, because they will inevitably
produce "hallucinations." For instance, in the synthetic text produced
here, there is no such book called "Love in the Time of Spam" by Barbara
Ehrenreich. Let's not clutter ADS-L with such misinformation.


On Sun, Jan 7, 2024 at 9:26 AM David Daniel <dad at coarsecourses.com> wrote:

> Here's what Bard said, no idea if it is accurate or not:
>
> The earliest documented reference to "catfishing" specifically for online
> deception interestingly doesn't come from online sources! It appears in the
> 2010 documentary film "Catfish," directed by Nev Schulman. The film
> chronicles Schulman's own experience falling in love with someone online
> whom he later discovered used a fake persona. This film is widely credited
> with popularizing the term in its current context.
>
> However, if we broaden the scope a bit, there are some earlier clues
> pointing to similar concepts:
>
> 1996: The novel "A Complicated Kindness" by Miriam Toews explores themes of
> deception and online relationships, featuring a character who fabricates an
> online persona to connect with others.
> 2002: The MTV show "Room Raiders" aired an episode titled "Love Online,"
> which explored the potential for deception and catfishing in online dating
> environments.
> 2006: The book "Love in the Time of Spam" by Barbara Ehrenreich delves into
> the world of online dating and mentions techniques used by some individuals
> to misrepresent themselves online.
> These examples suggest that the concept of online deception for romantic
> purposes existed before the term "catfishing" became popularized. However,
> the 2010 film "Catfish" played a pivotal role in bringing the term and its
> associated concept into widespread public consciousness.
>
> It's also worth noting that the metaphor of using catfish to attract other
> fish has existed for centuries. Some sources trace the analogy back to
> 17th-century England, where catfish were used to stir ponds and make other
> fish more active. In this sense, the application of the catfish metaphor to
> online deception adds a layer of irony, implying that the deceptive online
> persona aims to "stir up" interest and engagement from unsuspecting
> individuals.
>
> So, while "Catfish" the film may be the earliest definitive reference to
> the
> term in its current meaning, the underlying concept has been explored and
> alluded to in various forms for quite some time.
>
> -----Mensagem original-----
> De: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] Em nome de
> Shapiro, Fred
> Enviada em: domingo, 7 de janeiro de 2024 10:01
> Para: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Assunto: Slang Sense of "Catfishing"
>
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Slang Sense of "Catfishing"
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
>
> "Catfishing" is a slang term for "The practice of creating a fictional
> onli=
> ne persona intending to lure a person into a false relationship."  I would
> =
> welcome any information as to early print occurrences of this term, and
> als=
> o early print occurrences of the related term "catfish," both as noun and
> v=
> erb.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org