Sadfishing: How Instagram Became an Emotional Outlet?
Candid confessions on social networks are becoming the norm and replacing photos with cute kittens and beautiful food. People are tired of such photos and they not only enjoy sharing, but also perceive Instagram and Facebook as places to discuss important things. Not just important, but extremely personal things: diseases, complexes, intimate problems, complex emotions…
This modern way of dealing with grief has a term – Sadfishing (literally “sad fishing” in English) and is already included in the dictionary of Internet phenomena. It comes from catfishing, a slang term for fraud by assuming a false identity online and was coined by writer Rebecca Reid.
Sadfishing is when someone uses their personal problems to attract an audience on the Internet.
– Rebecca Reid
Sadfishing: How to get attention
In his Metro article three years ago, Reed wrote, “Sad fishing is when someone uses their personal problems to attract an audience on the Internet.” So sadfishing has become a profitable business by grabbing attention to a shared annoyance on a personal level. Instead of discussing intimate topics the old-fashioned way – with those closest to them, many, including celebrities, use public hyper-candor as a money machine. When they announce to the world that they’re sad, stars, influencers, and regular people get clicks and followers.
An example? A while ago, Kendall Jenner launched a marketing campaign with a brand of skin care products, announcing in advance that she would reveal a very painful personal struggle – with acne, as it turned out. However, she also received a lot of criticism that her posts were manipulative and insensitive.
