Lying is typically frowned upon. So is catfishing.
A catfish is someone who pretends to be someone else online, typically on dating apps. Essentially, they are liars. Like lying, catfishing itself is technically legal and is often thought of as insignificant.
In his research paper titled Why We Need Better Ethics for Emerging Technologies, James Moor says “we are living in a period of technology that promises dramatic changes and in which it is not satisfactory to do ethics as usual.” He claims that we must be more proactive in our fight against unethical uses of technology, which includes creating fake profiles on dating apps.
Catfishing is morally disturbing for many reasons. Many victims report emotional distress as a result of their fake relationships. Those whose pictures are used, without consent, to aid in catfishing are indirectly helping to form a relationship with an unknown persona. Despite this, very few dating apps provide tools to defend against catfishers. However, change might be coming.
Moor states that, in this age of emerging technology, “the subtlety of the situation may escape us at least initially, and we will find ourselves in a situation of assessing the matter as consequences unfold.” This seems to be what is happening with many dating apps, specifically Tinder.
After thousands of catfishing horror stories were made public, Tinder finally decided to take action. Just recently, Tinder implemented a “panic button” and anti-catfishing features (e.g, photo verification) to prevent fake profiles. However, these features do not punish those who catfish, but simply deter others from attempting to do so.This may not be enough to stop catfishing, and perhaps legal consequences should be implemented as well. According to Moor, we must “formulate and justify new policies” for these situations, which may include legal action. However, this presents even more questions regarding the definition of a catfish and what a potential punishment would entail. Is the catfish himself at fault? Or, should we blame the companies who created the technologies that allow catfishers to exist?
Catfishing is largely unethical, and unethical actions are typically met with punishment. As the world of online dating continues to grow, it may be wise to take legal action against catfishers. However, for now, a “panic button” will have to do.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteYou have done an extensive amount of revision from the first post and have incorporated a lot of feedback from the comments also! But, in an effort to move up the introduction of Moor and his idea, the flow of the post gets choppy as it jumps between catfishing, Moor, catfishing, Moor and seems forced.
I also see that the main point you wanted to talk about also remains at the bottom, and should be expanded upon. You pose a question about who to blame. This seems like an interesting take you could have expanded on and related it to the talk about proper ethical use.
Hi Emily, I enjoyed reading through this article and I feel the Moor reading was well integrated into what you were saying. However, I would have liked to see a clearer call to action at the end so the reader would have some idea of what to do in the future. There was a part that I found very interesting at the end of the second last paragraph about whether the catfishers themselves are at fault or whether the companies at fault, and I would have liked to see your personal thoughts on this. I also think maybe you could have taken a firmer stance on whether or not you agree with Moor that new (possibly legal) policies should be formed.
ReplyDeleteEmily:
ReplyDeleteI like how you introduce Moor early on in this revised blog post. As I'm sure many others (even the GSIs) have noted, it would be beneficial to help the reader familiarize themselves with Moor from the beginning of the blog post. Great job here. I also appreciated how you took into consideration some of the comments from your first blog post. Specifically, one student noted Tinder's new feature: a panic button, which you included (and even ended with!) in this revised post. You did an amazing job at taking in and solidifying the comments that you received on the first post!