Jordyn - Final Project

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This piece was created to promote the dangers of online dating and online chatting in
general. Dating websites such as eHarmony all the way to apps like Tinder have stormed the
social scene as of late. People have even used social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and
Twitter to chat people whom they have never met. A recent phenomenon that has been taking
place is something called catfishing. This is when someone uses another person’s pictures to
attract the attention of people they wouldn’t otherwise attract. It is commonly seen with
predators who are trying to lure kids into horrific situations. However, it is becoming popular
with people who are simply uncomfortable with their looks and utilize someone else’s pictures to
get the attention they are desperate for. I got the idea for creating this image after seeing that one
of my friends had her pictures and information used by someone who was creating fake profiles
(Eischens, 2015). She was upset that someone thought it was okay to take her pictures and
information to get attention for themselves and that ultimately hurt her personal reputation
(Eischens, 2015). This was my main inspiration for this piece because it offered the perspective
of someone who had their identity stolen, which is often overlooked as people only focus on the
catfisher and the catfishee. The main ideas that helped form the framework of my project were
the beauty myth, the aspects of culture jamming and activist strategies. In terms of the beauty
myth, this thought gives people the idea of what society perceives as beautiful. For example, this
gives people who catfish the idea that they need to say the provocative things and post a picture
of a young, thin, blonde woman to attract the attention they are searching for. The culture
jamming and activist strategies go hand in hand. I used this opportunity to expose the dark side
of the online dating and social interactions that take place on a daily basis. Hopefully this image
encourages people to take extra precautions when they decide to engage in online dating and
social media interactions in general.