MTV's Catfish: The TV Show

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In the new generation people are more into using social media has a way to interact with others more than ever. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook , and Myspace has become the new norm into networking, making friends, finding possibly a match and making a love connection. These social medias allow people to create profiles in which they can alter their information. This results in many incident where people are not who they said they are. For that reason people become catfish. The MTV show Catfish bring viewers into the world of online- dating and the result it may have. Being catfish can bring a wide variety of attention that can be discuss has to whether or not it can be considered a crime Two theories that that can explain the rise of the catfish phenomenon are the anomie/ strain theory and the labeling theory. The strain theory and the labeling theory can both be used to describe the widespread act of catfishing. Although one provides a better explanation to the act of catfishing someone and a better plan for preventing it. Robert K. Merton established the stain theory from Emile Durkheim anomie theory. Merton felt as though the individuals in society wanted to become successful yet there was an obstacle that prevented them to reach that goal that society feels that people should obtain. He also felt that success was the driving force in society. However, many find it impossible to gain success. Nonetheless the prevention that leads the procurement of the goal in which leads a person to feel a sense of burden into finding other ways to purse that goal that society upholds an individual to have. This results in the variance of the societal goals and the proper means to accomplish it being anomie. In spite of that, society... ... middle of paper ... ...e treated in a similar way of identity theft. Identity theft is a serious crime in which someone steals your personal information and pretends to be you to obtain resources that were not easily obtainable when they were themselves. Catfish is relatable to that crime because someone who catfish a person pretends to be someone they are not. Innocent people who feel as though they are talking to someone real and then find out that it not who they have been talking to all along. Therefore feel as though they have been deceived. The person who identity has been stolen through someone trying to catfish another person may go through the same obstacle as someone who’s been a victim of identity theft. The individual would have to go through the internet seeing fake profile and online pictures and trying to convince others that those profiles are fake and not really them.

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