Online dating: How not to get catfished

With social media, the dating world has become both easier and more complicated – it has also led to web entanglements due to people hiding their true identities behind the screen. 

Dating and social media apps have made meeting people very simple without needing to meet them in person. Some people consider themselves to be in romantic relationships with people they have never met before, but have only communicated with online, in some cases for several years.

Despite this being strange for some, it has become more common in the last few years. This is why it’s important to be aware of catfishing, a term that refers to someone who creates fake profiles on social media using someone else’s pictures and false biographical information.

These “catfish” usually try trick an unsuspecting person or persons into falling in love with them.

MTV Catfish UK

MTV has made a successful reality TV series using the term ‘catfish’ to hunt down catfishers. The second season of MTV Catfish UK will be coming to South African screens soon. The reality shows new host Nella Rose has made massive strides in video content creation, so it made sense why she was the right fit. 

The London-based media personality spoke to The Citizen and said she couldn’t believe she was asked to be the new presenter. 

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“I was literally screaming with excitement because Catfish has been my favourite TV show since I was 14,” she said.

Rose and her co-presenter Oobah Butler will help people find out who they have been talking to online and whether or not they are who they say they are.