Marty Lobdell
Staff Writer

The recent kerfuffle over footballer Manti Te’o and his supposed dead girlfriend, motivated this piece. The internet and its social media sites can bring people together but they can also cause difficulties.

In 2010, a purported documentary titled “Catfish” followed a young man’s online romance with a fictitious woman. From this film came the notion of “catfishing”, i. e., a romantic online impersonation. Manti’s online romance seems to have occurred between Manti and another man who pretended to be a woman. How could anyone be so gullible? People like to believe what other people say; however, on the internet one can never be certain who is on the other end.

Washington State has a law against online impersonation if harm is done. Nonetheless, a law does not prevent a person from assuming a different persona. It only creates a penalty if caught and convicted of impersonating another with the intent to do harm.

So, what are the risks besides looking foolish if/when the charade is disclosed? Probably the most extreme risks are the Craigslist killers. Several people have been murdered when they go to meet someone pretending to have a product for sale.

Other risks involve catfishing to cause a person they know to believe that someone wonderful is interested in him or her. The painful switch comes when people realize they have been duped. The fact that they were suckered can be spread rapidly through social media or texting; a high tech way of bullying.

People also have catfished with the hopes of scamming money, e. g., “I am your grandson and need money to get out of jail in Mexico. I would have emailed mom and dad, but I would die of embarrassment if they knew.” There seems to be no end to the sorts of scams that could be perpetrated.

Another internet problem involves sending highly personal images or messages to people they are dating. Once the image or message is sent, there is no calling it back. People have been embarrassed to find their personal stuff showing up on numerous websites. What’s more embarrassing is that careers can be lost and opportunities denied as a result of sharing what is personal with the world.

Even the material that is posted on Facebook or Linkedin pages can come back to haunt people. Images that are cute or funny to you may not be so cute or funny to others. The disclosure of personal information may also open one to various scams. Probably the best rule before sending or posting any material is: would you want the world to see this?  Because once sent, the world might see it.

Another internet concern is online dating sites. Online dating sites match people who otherwise would have never met. People successfully meet and even marry people through such sites. But some have also been hurt, both emotionally and physically. Once again, a person could be catfishing on a dating site. It is wise to write back and forth few times to get a feeling for the person. And one may be able to do some checking to see if he/she has arrests or other issues.

Keep in mind that people will try to make a favorable impression when communicating online. It is wise to actually meet the other person in a safe public setting fairly early to see if their behavior matches their words.  Some people have had a friend shadow them at the first meeting. If things are not going well, the person signals the friend who then calls the person’s cell indicating that he/she must get home immediately…voila the date is over.