Carrie Bradshaw is lucky that she finally snagged Mr. Big before the existence of dating apps because they can truly be a nightmare. They seem exciting at first. Especially, when you stumble across someone who seems like your type on paper, but they make it easy for you to lie about who you really are, and, honestly, that sucks.
Since I'm still somewhat new to the Big Apple I've tried to use dating apps as a way to go on dates and meet new people, and was excited when I matched with someone who was my type to a T, which basically meant he looked like a real life Prince Charming. Right away, we planned a date, but he suddenly had to go out of town. Next, he had plans with his friends, and then, he had a bad cold. Suddenly, I realized what I feared from the beginning, he was, in fact, a catfish.
Now, if for some reason, you have been sleeping under a rock since the premiere of Catfish in 2012. You should know a catfish is someone who uses someone else's photos online to lie about their appearance, and often times, start full blown virtual relationships. On the show, some of these relationships exist for a year or longer. Luckily, I noticed after a few weeks of talking to my catfish that something was up. Below, I've listed a few signs, so the same doesn't happen to you;
1. Green Texts
Now you shouldn't rule them out completely, if their texts are green because they might just be #teamandroid but it's okay to question a bit at this point. Especially, since green texts mean they can't FaceTime.
2. No Snapchat or Other Forms of Social Media
Having no Snapchat is a major sign that they could be a catfish because the app makes it basically impossible to fake your identity. If they go a step further and say they have no social media, you know they're lying because what 20 something in 2020 isn't on social media?
3. They Complain that your Schedule is Too Busy
As someone who really is always busy, I get this complaint from pretty much everyone I ever talk to, but the fact of the matter is that I always make time for someone I'm interested in. A catfish just uses this as another one of their excuses to not meet up (which brings me to my final point).
4. THEY ALWAYS HAVE AN EXCUSE!!!
Seriously, it's just one thing after another. I say to apply the three-strike rule here. One excuse, fine, that supposed emergency might be real. Two excuses, I'm suspicious, but I'll believe it's your friend's birthday party. Three excuses, you're out! At this point, you've done nothing but waste my time and mess up my well-organized schedule, so it's on to the next match.
My advice to any other singles out there is to watch for these signs, but also to trust your gut. For me, something just felt off right away, and if I had listened to that I would not have wasted any time on a catfish.
XOXO,
Kristin
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