Acceptable use of "cat-fishing?"

After recently watching the documentary, I gained insight on the topic in general and the original story. I, like most others, agree that it is a very strange and immoral because, the person in question is essentially lying for one reason. However, what if you used it for good? Say, to catch someone doing this to other people or just criminals in general? I do believe we had a similar discussion about lying earlier in the semester and that this is basically the same issue, but say the government used this method to track terrorists, or criminals, or whoever they might be looking for (for whatever reasons, that's another issue). I guess depending on the philosopher you might agree with, might determine whether or not you think this could be moral.

Catfish

This week we finish off a documentary that was really creepy towards the end as we found out the truth about the family.  It made me think of all the people who actually get on social networks and stalk people, or create a profile to harm others. In the film it was almost unbelievable what the women did just to be able to talk to Nev. I can't think of no moral way of defining what this woman did, I might be wrong and anyone correct me, but I am sure I wasn't the only one who felt weird and kind of mad in class after knowing the truth.

Catfish, is it morally right or wrong?

This week in class, we started watching a documentary called " Catfish". Later, it was taken up by MTV and turned into a TV series. The documentary is about this guy called Nev who has been talking to this family for a while now. He receives paintings that is from the youngest daughter of the family. He then become friends on Facebook with the mom, dad, brother, youngest daughter, and her sister. Then he starts fall in love with the sister and start having this " online relationship" with her. They exchange pictures and message each other and talk to each other. Then the sister starts sending him covers of songs that she did and he starts finding out that she is just taking them from YouTube. So he becomes upset and does not know what to do. So he , his brother and his friend decide to visit the family to make sure if it is true. So they drive all night and decided to see if the house where the sister is true. they reach the house and looks to see if there are horses in the barn because the sister told him that she owns horses. It turns out as fake , and decided to meet the family during breakfast to  find out the truth. He meets the family and it turns out that all of it was a fake. The Facebook profile of the sister was set up by the mom and that there was never this sister. Also the paintings were not from the daughter, it was from the mom. Also the pictures of the sister are from a professional photographer. So the question is this, Is it morally right to lie to people about who they are and get them to like or fall in love with a person that does not exist. Also, why do people do this for their amusement? Is it morally wrong to make it into a tv seires?

Response to ABrown

I can see how you came to your interpretation. However, I thought the quote was referencing the fact that man should strive to be like God in all situations. It reminds me of the quote "What would Jesus do?". Yes man's flesh is power driven but in a religion like Christianity, man's ultimate goal is to strive to be like God. One must follow in his foot steps and seek answers from him. Man must strive to become one with God.

Response to Swamy

I totally agree with you. People don't understand the dangers of becoming friends with people on social networks. There are a lot of people who seek out vulnerable young teens in order to take advantage of them. In this case, a man is being taking advantage of just for the purpose of his naivete. This situation is stranger than most because nothing clearly makes sense. Plus, this situation involves more than one persons.  

Response to Jahleel

I think that the enjoyment comes from not setting up someone for failure but to showcase how manipulative a person can be. It also shows how naive the other person is. This movie has confirmed that social media can cause a lot of problems. We here the stories of how old men prey on young girls, making the girls believe that they are only a few years older in order to try and lure them in. I think it's interesting how they have created an entire movie devoted to the uncertainties of the people we think we know through social sites. I believe that it is morally wrong because the person that created the fake identity is being deceitful about his or her identity. It causes more moral issues when emotions and feelings get involved. The whole tactic is to see how far they can keep up with their charade before being caught.

Catfish

This week, we started watching a movie about people creating fake Facebook accounts. The person named Nev, was made to believe that he was in a relationship with this family, and slowly unravels the lie that was told by the family. I believe this was a very informational documentary to others, so that social networking is more careful. Most kids these days post everything they see or want, and not one person realizes the danger they put themselves in.