[Ads-l] RES: Slang Sense of "Catfishing"

[David Daniel]

I didn't intend it as serious research, but more as a look at the state of
Bard. I reported to Google last week about total gobbledygook I got from
Bard on another matter. Bard isn't ready for serious business yet, but I bet
it won't be long until it is. 

-----Mensagem original-----
De: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] Em nome de Ben
Zimmer
Enviada em: domingo, 7 de janeiro de 2024 14:36
Para: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Assunto: Re: Slang Sense of "Catfishing"

Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Slang Sense of "Catfishing"
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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=E2=80=AFAM 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 t=
he
> 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 credite=
d
> 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 
> datin=
g
> environments.
> 2006: The book "Love in the Time of Spam" by Barbara Ehrenreich delves 
> in=
to
> the world of online dating and mentions techniques used by some 
> individua=
ls
> 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 
> it=
s
> associated concept into widespread public consciousness.
>
> It's also worth noting that the metaphor of using catfish to attract 
> othe=
r
> fish has existed for centuries. Some sources trace the analogy back to 
> 17th-century England, where catfish were used to stir ponds and make 
> othe=
r
> fish more active. In this sense, the application of the catfish 
> metaphor =
to
> online deception adds a layer of irony, implying that the deceptive 
> onlin=
e
> 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=3D ne persona intending to lure a person into a false 
> relationship."  I woul=
d
> =3D
> welcome any information as to early print occurrences of this term, 
> and als=3D o early print occurrences of the related term "catfish," 
> both as noun and v=3D erb.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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