"Kittenfishing" - the new disturbing dating trend

[Tennis]

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...-a7818056.html

The world of dating can be brutal and if you’re one of the singletons trying to navigate your way through the scene, the chances are at some point you’ve been ghosted, breadcrumbed or even benched.

But as if dating in the digital age of technology wasn’t hard enough, there’s a new term that could be putting your love life at risk and you’ve almost definitely experienced it without realising.

Let us introduce you to ‘kittenfishing’, a term coined by dating app Hinge that’s essentially defined as presenting yourself in an unrealistically positive way.

Essentially a light version of ‘catfishing’ – when you pretend to be a totally different person online – kittenfishing can be as simple as using profile photos that are out-of-date or heavily edited.

Or it can be more severe, like straight-up lying about your age, height, interests or accomplishments.

“As if catfishing wasn't bad enough, people who are actually trying to find dates or love through online dating sites have to be concerned about people kittenfishing them,” love coach Nikki Leigh told Bustle.

“We have to wonder if people think this is harmless or if people do it intentionally. They may figure they'll shave a few (or more) years off their age to make themselves seem more attractive to grab a person's attention. Or they may post a picture when they were thinner, so they can get more attention in the beginning.

“It's sad they don't realize that they aren't doing themselves any favors and they are actually hurting their own chances if they are really looking for a date or love and they are hurting other people.“

An act that we’ve probably all experienced or even been guilty of at some point, kittenfishing comes as the world of dating becomes more and more competitive.

An ever-increasing playing field, it seems singletons are starting to feel the pinch and as such, resorting to embellishment to give them an added edge.

How sad. Will these people go to any lengths? Such duplicitous behaviour must be avoided for sure.

[GennGreymane]

SO its cat fishing, but at the next level?

[Super Friendly Kitty Cat]

I just use my old sports photos of me playing T-Ball when I was 10.

[Fauxpaws]

Wait a second. People lie about themselves to get into sexual relationships? Are you sure?

[GennGreymane]

I just use my old sports photos of me playing T-Ball when I was 10.

You should work with chris hansen. Do some good in the world.

[Elim Garak]

Aw, millennials and their brutal dating techniques. Life is so scary.

[Nitros14]

People have been lying about themselves for sex for thousands of years.

[Jakexe]

Sooooo lying?

People will lie if it increases chances of sex?

What a shocking development, never in all of history has this ever occurred before the filthy internet existed.

[Nynax]

SO its cat fishing, but at the next level?

I would say catfishing is the next level of this (in a way, totally different) but for some reason this middle ground, that I think we all new existed, just HAD to be officially defined.

[Tennis]

Why is a 20 year olds blog now considered legitimate news?

Independent is a top UK newspaper. Please contribute and stop derailing.

[Elim Garak]

Lying about yourself in order to get into someone's pants is a new millennial generation thing?

Was l lying invented a couple decades ago or something?

The point was "millennials complaining about brutal dating", not lying.
I didn't even mention any lying.

Thinking is hard I guess.

[Cosmic Janitor]

You might want to stop reading tabloids op. Especially ones that are like 5000 years behind.

[SupBrah]

WTF is it with millennials and their obsession with renaming things and claiming it's a new trend for no reason whatsoever?

It's literally the same definition as catfishing, and it's nothing new. It's been around since the beginning of the internet, and the idea of lying to someone to get laid and/or into a relationship has been around since the beginning of man.

Dating is, more or less, the same as a job interview. It's usually less about who you are and more about how you present yourself to be. People always lie or at least exaggerate things to try to attract the opposite sex.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Editing photos seems to be very common. I don't use dating apps, but I see a lot of photos on social media, and the one that's quite obnoxious are the women that overuse the softening (blemish correcting) tool on their face. They make it so smooth that their face looks fake and weird. Chicks that do that shit should be avoided.

I can't help but laugh every time I see someone take an angled shot from the ceiling in hopes that the geometry will stretch away their pounds .. lol.

[Deleted]

With every single of these type of threads by Tennis I keep picturing him as some loner who jacks off each night because he's too shy to interact with a woman, or hell, even another person not on these forums.

infracted - minor flaming

[JohnnyTheCherriesLover]

Catfishing is nothing new, regardless how you choose to call it and it's something women are more guilty of than men.

Independent is a top UK newspaper. Please contribute and stop derailing.

It used to be, since it ceased print edition and become online only, it's now full of clickbait articles.

[Mistame]

The "new" trend? And yet, women have been putting "average" as their body type when they're clearly "BBW" for longer than the author of that blog has been out of puberty.

Independent is a top UK newspaper. Please contribute and stop derailing.

Blogs are not news, regardless of who hosts them.

[Azadina]

WTF is it with millennials and their obsession with renaming things and claiming it's a new trend for no reason whatsoever?

It's literally the same definition as catfishing, and it's nothing new. It's been around since the beginning of the internet, and the idea of lying to someone to get laid and/or into a relationship has been around since the beginning of man.

Dating is, more or less, the same as a job interview. It's usually less about who you are and more about how you present yourself to be. People always lie or at least exaggerate things to try to attract the opposite sex.

The first thing that came to mind when I was reading the OP. How is it new that people indeed paint unrealistically positive image of themselves, exaggerate about themselves, their skills etc. For job interviews especially, it seems no one wants the honest version, as that never gets picked.

Sometimes I wonder if the OP was born yesterday or something.

[Spectral]

I met a few girls from online and learned pretty quick that not having any pictures where their body is visible sets off the alarm bells - fat girls love to pretend to not be fat online. Spectacular waste of time for men that aren't into fat girls.

[Fencers]

I think most of the published stuff about being single are all bullshit.

I am not single and haven't been for a long time now. However, I have many single friends & family and co-workers whom have never reported anything similar to all the lingo and 'trends' articles such as the OP claim.

For the most part, people go on dates and hook up the same way they have done for decades- talk to one another and hang out until it becomes serious or someone meets a better prospect.

I highly doubt 'kittenfishing' is sweeping the perilous lives of singles anywhere except on the internet.

I am an old lady though. Meh.