Sadfishing

Sadfishing is a term used to describe a behavioural trend where people make exaggerated claims about their emotional problems to generate sympathy.[1] The name is a play on "catfishing." Sadfishing is a common reaction for someone going through a hard time, or pretending to be going through a hard time. Sadfishing is said to hurt younger people, exposing them to bullying and child grooming.[2] This is due to people sharing their personal and emotional stories online, a practice which sometimes result in the individual sharing the story being targeted by online abusers.[3] Another consequence of this behaviour is that people with "real problems" end up being overlooked or even accused of sadfishing themselves and being bullied for it.

Young people who seek support online have started being accused of sadfishing, a report has said. The report says that the accusations of sadfishing could further harm young people with mental health problems.[4] Sadfishing is related to cyberbullying, and is often looked upon as a method of attention seeking. Sadfishing has been said to attract bullies and paedophiles.[5]

  1. ^ Coughlan, Sean (October 1, 2019). "'Sadfishing' warning on social media". BBC News.
  2. ^ Boyd, Milo; Gibbons, Brett (October 1, 2019). "Kendall Jenner-inspired 'sadfishing' trend 'puts children at risk of grooming'" – via www.mirror.co.uk.
  3. ^ Bernal, Natasha (October 1, 2019). "Sadfishing: The toxic social media trend that could be harming your child". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  4. ^ correspondent, Sally Weale Education (September 30, 2019). "Young people who seek support online being accused of 'sadfishing'". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Mahmood, Basit (October 1, 2019). "'Sadfishing' is playing into hands of paedophiles and bullies" – via www.metro.co.uk.