Author: rubylanzi

I Have A Question For You:

You wake up in the morning, see a friend request on FaceBook from a familiar name and face but don’t quite remember who they are. Do you accept, decline, or leave it? 

Introduction

Deception is “the act of hiding the truth, especially to gain an advantage”. A form of deception is when individuals create fake online profiles to lure in victims to begin a relationship or potentially make money off them. 

Social media can be dangerous at times, so if there is one thing for you to take away from this explainer it’s to always be cautious when using social media. Social media is so powerful, use this wisely and keep it a safe space for all.

What is ‘Catfishing’?

Catfishing can be described as a “deception about one’s online identity, generally with an ulterior motive” Therefore, catfishing is where an individual creates a fake online identity and pretends to be someone that they are not in order to persuade another individual into a relationship or friendship.

Why do people catfish?

1. Alternated reality:

Some individuals use the ‘virtual world’ in order to live a life that they have always hoped for. Therefore, they live through this made up person in order to potentially help with their insecurities.  

2. Revenge:

People who have had bad break ups, ex best friends, enemies and so on, are looking for revenge. Therefore they make fake profiles and try to ‘trick’ this individual or make a fake profile of the actual individual to get revenge.

3. Scamming:

Thus meaning, they make fake profiles in order to make money off others.  

4. Mental health:

People with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and many more create fake profiles as they are scared to reveal their authentic self. Due to their mental illness, once this individual begins to live this life, it can become quite addictive to them without them realising the damage they are doing to others.

How do you catch a catfish?

There are many signs that an individual is being catfished but there are some main signs to always watch out for when using any form of social media relationship. If the relationship is progressing quickly without having met the other person then this is definitely a first sign to be wary of. If the person refuses to send photos of their face or FaceTime you, then something is fishy (pun intended).  At this point of your ‘relationship’ an individual should be requesting to meet instead of keeping it strictly online. A huge sign that a person should see and understand is, if the catfish begins to ask for money. In this case, it is pretty clear that whoever the other person is, is only doing this for money. Those aren’t all the signs on how to catch a catfish but they are the main one’s everyone should be looking out for. 

Some Cards posted about a lady opening up to her catfishing story. A 22 year old lady begun to talk to, what she thought was, a 27 year old army man. She ended up falling in love with him and told him about a story one time when she got drunk. To this story he did not react well and would throw in her face that she even got drunk to begin with. After an argument, he deleted her and blocked her and she was absolutely devastated. She tried looking him up on other social media accounts and couldn’t find him anywhere. Finally, she looked up his ID and found that he was a 40 year old man who catfishes not only women but men as well by pretending to be a female. 

Looking up the individual’s name on other social media platforms will really give a good insight into whether or not you are being catfished. 

Can authorities handle catfishes?

In serious cases of catfishing, police, private investigators, FBI agents, lawyers and courts can and will begin to involve themselves. The following is an example of a case where this occurred. The case has been ongoing for eight years now and will recommence for sentencing on June 6 2019. 

Lydia Abdelmalek pretended to be well-known actor Lincoln Lewis, a star in Home and Away. A girl named Emma, who had known Lincoln Lewis from primary school received a FaceBook friend request from who she thought was Lewis. This fake account  began to chat online too Emma and they ended up in an online relationship. They had spoken over the phone and planned to meet up a few times but ‘Lewis’ would always cancel last minute. After this went on for a while, Emma became suspisious, ended up finding the real phone number of Lincoln Lewis and the real Lewis confirmed that he had not in fact, been in touch with her nor been in an online relationship with her. He recently tweeted out the following tweets regarding his case.

1/3
Having your number, address, personal details illegally obtained & photos doctored was scary.
Having them used to catfish people is sickening.
But nothing can give back or make right what this sick person did and took away from the victims. https://t.co/MW2ICAlXap

— Lincoln Lewis (@linc_lewis) April 9, 2019

2/3
For everyone, but especially for those with kids, KNOW who you or they are talking to online.
BE ABSOLUTELY SURE of it!
Social media can be great but also a scary place as there are sick twisted people out there.
Be safe.

— Lincoln Lewis (@linc_lewis) April 9, 2019

3/3
I also want to take this time to thank the incredible police & detectives who have worked tirelessly on this case over the last 8 years. You see the worst actions in people yet never give up. You are amazing. Thank you.

— Lincoln Lewis (@linc_lewis) April 9, 2019

After catfishing Emma on a second occassion, pretending to be her ex-boyfriend, Emma sadly committed suicide over the whole situation as she has genuine feelings towards ‘Lewis’. One of her friends stated in a police statement “She said she had lost the ability to function, she described to me that her mind and body were out of sync.”  The fake profile begun to send threats to her victims which is where the Queensland police were involved. Abdelmalek is a 29 year old woman who lives in Melbourne and is now known for her catfishing abilities. She appeared in court in May 2019 after 4 years of trying to keep her name hidden and continuing on with catfishing victims. She has been found guilty of six different counts of stalking.

Through this story, there is something that can be learnt. Catfishing is a serious matter that police will not take seriously until threats and physical action is taking place. This is the reason why it is so important to always be cautious with who we are associating ourselves with online. 

But, what can be done in the case of a serious catfishing scandal? If threats are being written, sent or published to you somehow, showing the police or FBI this evidence will be the best thing for you. They will then take matters into serious hands and help you catch your catfish. 

Here’s My Answer:

To answer the question that begun this explainer … you do whatever feels right, but always ensure you are safe and meet the online user. 

CITES USED:

Cambridge Dictionary 2019, ‘Deception’, viewed 14.05.19 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/deception

Christine, MG 2019, ‘Family Not Spared From Catfish Spotlight’, news.com, viewed 22.05.19 https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/family-not-spared-from-catfish-spotlight/news-story/54a81cdf09698b6f884e6eeeabf3e0d5

DigitalnDigital 2018, ‘What is catfishing in social media?’, viewed 12.05.19 https://www.digitalndigital.com/catfishing-in-social-media/

Eric, V 2018, ‘It’s not about money: we asked catfish why trick people online’, The Conversation, viewed 14.05.19 https://theconversation.com/its-not-about-money-we-asked-catfish-why-they-trick-people-online-100381

Eric, V 2018, ‘Why catfish trick people online: it’s not always malicious’, ABC Net, viewed 13.05.19 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-26/why-catfish-trick-people-online/10035624

James, O, Brad, R 2019, ‘Catching a Catfish’, ABC News, viewed 20.05.19

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-09/lincoln-lewis-fake-catfish-internet-stalker-court-trial/10919538?utm_source=facebook_paid&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=News-Winter&utm_content=Catfish

Jillian, B 2018, ‘What can you do if you are a victim of catfishing?’, Sydney Morning Herald, viewed 13.05.19 https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/what-can-you-do-if-you-are-a-victim-of-catfishing-20180817-p4zy1t.html

Krystal, DC 2014, ‘Catfishing: The Truth About Deception Online’, Scientific American, viewed 16.05.19 https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/catfishing-the-truth-about-deception-online/?redirect=1

Lara, P 2015, ’17 of the Most Insane Catfish Stories That Will Make You Cringe’, BuzzFeed, viewed 20.05.19 https://www.buzzfeed.com/laraparker/insane-catfish-stories-that-will-make-you-want-to-delete

Lincoln, L (Lincoln Lewis) @linc_lewis, 2019

Tweets by linc_lewis

Mike, U 2017, ‘Infographic: Catfishing – Interesting Facts and Statistics’, XNSPY, viewed 20.05.19 https://xnspy.com/blog/catfishing-interesting-facts-statistics.html

The CyberSmile Foundation 2019, ‘Catfishing’, viewed 12.05.19 https://www.cybersmile.org/what-we-do/advice-help/catfishing

What is my IP Address 2019, ‘8 Signs You Are Being Catfished’, viewed 12.05.19 https://whatismyipaddress.com/catfish

Here is an update about my DA. My video discusses the people that have affected my DA since beginning my instagram account. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm-tyvOCPQQ&feature=youtu.be

Link to Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/loveyourlight_/?hl=en

Love Your Light is aimed at adolescents who are looking to improve their mental health through the use of positive quotes, crystals and essential oils. 

I really do hope it has made someone smile. 

My first dilemma was creating a theme as a I wanted the Instagram account to flow. My solution was to post via every three posts accompanied by hashtags.

1. First post is a tip, usually how to use an essential oil or crystal which talks about it’s meaning and powers and how to use them the most useful way possible 
2. Second post is a photo usually taken by Charlotte Pierro and these photos’ captions usually contain something positive for the individual to think about during the day or for them to appreciate 
3. Third post is a quote that I have gathered from another instagram account. In this post I put my own design on the quote which is in quotation marks and tag the account that I found it on. 

With every post, I will usually gain around 2 – 4 followers. The main problem I am having is that the people that are liking my photos aren’t actually my followers. Therefore, the hashtags that I am using are bringing people to my posts but from there people aren’t following my account and I am still stuck with how to fix this. 

It usually takes me around 5 minutes to post each photo. I need to ensure the caption is written in a way which is engaging and relevant to users and the account as a whole. 

I made an unexpected YouTube video during the process of my DA which was in collaboration with a friend named Mia. This video is relevant to my DA as it helps my followers to understand that there are different ways of meditating and how much meditating can give you a peace of mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phkh9grnNOI&feature=youtu.be

Stay True To You, R.

People create content to gain something else. Take away the money gained, the followers who followed and the fame risen, would they still create?

I was told the HSC was important. Was it true? No. It was a constructed reality that I was told. I will always regret finishing high school for many reasons but all it did was deteriorate my mental health.

But was the HSC created for adolescents to gain an education or is it for teachers, principles, governments to have extra money?

Linking this back to today’s lecture. If content creators didn’t gain something from their content, would they still be producing it? They wouldn’t create more because they would see it as a “moo point”

I feel like this has been a negative blog post, so I want to end it on a positive note.

Do the things you love to do, because you can and you enjoy doing it.

Just Do You, R.

Honestly, the terms discussed today are still confusing me so let’s try to break it down.

Hyper-reality: “is an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality” (online dictionary) Therefore, viewers do not exactly know if what is shown is real or fake. “It’s here and not here” as Ted would say.

Spectacle: “can only be acquired through the purchase of consumer goods”. So, in the long run, advertisements aren’t selling us a product, it is selling us an appearance?

We discussed different ‘types’ of societies. ‘Society of Control’ discussed school. We put our hand up to show our permission to ask or answer a question. This shows that we have been ‘programmed’ to raise our hands to order to speak in class. It can also be a sign of respectfulness and shows ones eagerness to learn. Well at least, that is what we are told to think.

I mean, school could be a simulation of a prison but I guess me saying that is a little dramatic.

Believe, R.

As I scroll through my Instagram feed I notice all these incredible adventures that people are going on, but is this just a constructed perception?

This photo is from my Instagram page of 16 year old Ruby, in New York. I captioned this post “ice skating” but I can’t skate to save my life. If you think I’m joking, I’m not.

The reality of this photo is that my hand is holding onto that railing bar as tight as you could imagine. I waddled onto the ice, had my best friend snap a few photos and slid straight back to normal ground. That was me ‘ice skating’.

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What I’m trying to say is, this photo of me looks like I am all chill on the ice (pun not intended), when it was really just a constructed perception that I wanted my followers to think I was doing that day.

What can I say? I’m a master at construction of perception.

Love Yourself, R.

Jurgen Habermas came up with this ideal of a ‘public sphere’. It is essentially a space where we share and gather information about the occurrences of society and/or of our own worlds.

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It’s taken me a bit of time this week for me to really think about what my ‘public sphere’ is. I don’t like the idea that it is a social media platform because that just annoys me. Despite the fact, I love scrolling through my FaceBook and Instagram feed, learning things about society and the issues being faced, I don’t like considering this to be my ‘public sphere’.

Being who I am, I don’t like to talk to people online. Things can be misinterpreted and overall it really isn’t showing your raw authentic self. In saying this, I do very rarely talk to people online if I don’t already know them. If I do, then it is a really rare occurrence and I am more than likely waiting to talk face to face. Except I can be really awkward, so I probably won’t initiate it, but the thought it most definitely there.

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So my public sphere, what is it? I don’t have a lot of close friends as I trust very few and find it hard to connect with people who don’t understand what I am all about. In saying this, I am not a serious person at all and so the people who surround me, also are not (and we all get drunk way too often). In fact, we basically make fun of life itself. I don’t like drama or gossip, which means the information I take from my ‘public sphere’ is more about what is happening in our lives and giving each other shit for anything really.

Contradicting everything I have just said, I sadly have accepted the fact that my Snapchat group chat would be my ‘public sphere’. Even though, my close friends and I catch up pretty much everyday, our Snapchat group chat is more than likely being used at any instance. I very rarely use any other social media platforms to communicate with people and if I am talking to someone through another media app then it is extremely rare.

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As I don’t necessarily ‘keep up’ with the occurrences of society then the people excluded from my ‘public sphere’ would be any individual who is not part of my micro world.

I feel like what I took away from this lesson is how much I despise ‘hiding’ behind a screen and really appreciate the people who take the time to talk and communicate offline.

Put Yourself Out There, R.

Ever since starting my Uni course, I hear the word propaganda constantly. To me, the word ‘propaganda’ was just a big word that I was never going to understand.

Propaganda, by its definition is ‘information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.’

Memes manage to relate to propaganda, which at this point, I’m not even surprised. Memes give an audience a certain point of view in a humorous way. They jump from one individuals mind to another. Memes are used to showcase reality and influence our ideologies about society.

Propaganda is universal, and is always evolving to society. Point of views change, social media changes, our lives change.

Personally, I love change. I love to just take each day as it comes and be able to just go through life without having to stress or worry about anything but the present moment.

This got off topic but what else do you expect from me?

Be Grateful, R.

Reading through one of this weeks readings, “What is the problem with social media?” (Hall, Jordan), I found myself being interested in a topic that I didn’t know existed.

Supernormal stimuli is how things have been constructed by society, lost their original meaning, which result in things no longer bettering us.

Being able to ‘connect’ with people online without having to see them face to face was the original meaning behind all these social media platforms being produced. But nowadays, social media is now a way of ‘showing off’ you life without it actually being true.

We see constant posts with happy families and close friendships but we don’t know what goes on, off screen. We don’t know what these people are going through and this is a massive issue. People see all these amazing experiences on their screens and wonder, why can’t my life be like that?

I guess what I learnt this week is that everything online is so processed that we really don’t know if anything is real anymore.

Smile, R.

I’m going to be completely honest, I don’t watch the news and I never have. There are many reasons for this but the two main reasons are:

1. I get distracted very easily and if something doesn’t interest me then I will zone out
2. To me, the news shows negative occurrences throughout society and I don’t like listening to things that put a damper on people or certain situations.

I do however, love reality television. This does include Married at First Sight. Something about those shows just intrigue me so much and I couldn’t explain why.

MAFS is aired on Channel Nine and there has been a lot of controversy around the realness of the show. Obviously, not everything that is shown on our screens is the 100% truth as most things are staged but this season the viewers are thinking that every contestant is a paid actor. This could be because of the two affairs that have occurred this season or because of all the drama and divide that we have seen. Either way, things are definitely not as they seem.

MAFS has this ideology about love, meeting ‘the one’ and spending your life with your ‘soul-mate’. Although this is all a fairytale story that majority of the population think they want in life it is not the reality of a proper relationship. To me, love is freedom, love is friendship. You fall in love with someone when you accept them for all that they are, someone who helps you grow and change into a better person. A ‘soul-mate’ to me isn’t the man I end up with, but anyone in my life that I have a soulful connection with that I know will last a life time. I believe we have many ‘soul-mates’ and I know that my best friend is one of mine. I guess I am just searching for more.

It’s very clear that everything in the media is not the truth but this is all because of the people who own the media and produce the shows. There is a constant demand by consumers to be entertained and so because of the pressure of society, owners and producers are forced to stage reality television in order for it to meet the standards of their viewers. We see what they want us too, not what is actually happening.

Therefore, this means that within the media that I use to access my ‘news’, I have very little trust in the owners. That doesn’t bother me as I understand that what I see is not the reality.

Be Present, R.

One of the fastest growing trends of the internet has to be GIFS and Memes. One minute I barely used FaceBook, then next thing I know I’m being tagged in over 40 Memes and GIFS a day because myself and all my friends have an addiction.

Producing GIFS that make people genuinely laugh is really hard, which is why I despise doing so. They all have a meaning behind them and the saddest thing is that the funniest GIFS and Memes are the ones that are our reality. This therefore proves that the medium truly is the message. There really is just no other way of putting it.

When GIFS were first introduced into our worlds, they were more for ‘tagging’ and ‘sharing’ with our friends but with the fast pace of the media and the constant demand for change by consumers, GIFS are taking over our text messages as well.

Below I have shared a literal text conversation that myself and one of my good mates, Jayden had the other day.

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GIFS are literally taking over my texts. I have come to a point where I cannot even be bothered to type out a text, so I find a GIF that says the message for me. This shows how influential the media is and the (literal) messages it sends.

Smile, R.