We live in a superficial time in which appearance means everything. As a society, we mass produce different types of concealers and foundation. We find it necessary to create and utilize filters that alter our look, implementing them in any and every social media app, feeling uncomfortable without lashes or even lipgloss. This vainess, lack of individuality, has become our new reality, one in which we take any opportunity to “improve” our look. 

However, this desire to improve and express only our finer self is not entirely for our own personal satisfaction. No. No matter how much we tell ourselves we put our hair up because it’s what we want or that we wear certain clothes because it’s what we like, it simply isn’t true. We do these things because we crave acceptance. Teen girls and young women apply makeup to hide blemishes because society frowns  upon pimples and black spots. Teen males and young men get a haircut every two weeks because they fear being deemed dirty and unkempt without it. 

I’m not saying this is bad, necessarily. Our superficiality has resulted in us leading a life where we abide by social norms that allow us not only to be accepted, but to be liked as well.

But what happens to those who can’t meet these norms or who are unable to fit what we deem an acceptable size? How do those who have faced insults and been battered with criticism find a way to fit into this superficial world? Many things happen as they try to navigate the feelings they face, they alter themselves slowly becoming a catfish.

According to Urban Dictionary, a catfish is “someone who pretends to be someone they’re not using Facebook or other social media to create false identities, particularly to pursue deceptive online romances.” Those who take this route have succumbed to the pressure that society inflicts; they have given in to the pressure to the point that they are not comfortable in their own skin. They convey their desired personality, behavior, and emotions through an online persona that is not real. For the face given is not them. They create a version of who they wish to be – who society wishes them to be – and people fall in love with that person.

A person’s appearance is the first thing we notice, whether it’s their smile or their physique. It’s the entryway to any relationship, or friendship. Catfishes know this and are afraid their appearance isn’t up to par. Afraid of rejection, they find someone society has deemed beautiful and they masquerade as them. 

Blame their actions on their insecurities, their lack of self-esteem if you may,  but I blame society. Society judges one another, inconsiderate of their feelings, and it has taken a toll on their minds and emotions. Trying to find love and acceptance in whatever way they can, they fabricate a new self.  It is time that our society, this generation, takes action in this prejudice that we’ve come to accept. People shouldn’t be judged by what they look like instead by the content of their character.