Reverse Catfishing: Gen Z's new dating strategy for finding real love
When you sign up on a dating app, the first few minutes (or even hours) are spent setting up your profile. A lot of effort goes into making it as likeable as possible. From seeking help from friends (perhaps even from AI) to craft the perfect bio, to selecting the best of your best pictures, and maybe even lying a little while answering some questions to appear cooler, people do it all for that ideal first impression.advertisementTurns out, there are people taking a completely contrasting approach on dating platforms to find genuine matches. It is called 'reverse catfishing'.What is 'reverse catfishing'It is a dating strategy where users intentionally put up unfiltered, raw, and even flawed pictures with purposefully toned-down achievements to find the most genuine match, who has the potential to love them even at their lowest.
The name, of course, comes from catfishing, where people fake their identities to lure matches with the intent to deceive others into a relationship or transaction. The goal is typically to mislead the victim, sometimes leading to financial scams or emotional manipulation.Reverse catfishing, on the other hand, is a completely different approach. It involves keeping your profile as real as possible, sometimes even highlighting traits you consider to be flaws. The reason? To find someone who likes you for who you truly are, not just for your positive aspects.advertisementAccording to dating app Quack-Quack's latest survey, 2 in 5 Gen Z daters are now embracing 'reverse catfishing'. Not flexing at all is apparently the newest flex.The survey was conducted from the beginning of April among 7,463 daters between the ages of 18 and 27. Participants came from metros, suburbs, and rural regions and belonged to various career fields, including IT, healthcare, education, finance, marketing, content creation, and more, as well as students and young start-up owners.What's behind the rise of this trendUnfiltered authenticity, one of the strongest virtues for Gen Z daters, is behind the rise of reverse catfishing. Be it bonding over fitness, food, travel or concerts, the authenticity factor tops their list of priorities as noted by several dating app platforms.Individuality is of utmost importance; they want someone who can accept them for who they are. Finding the right match is their goal, and impressing the wrong one is not."Reverse catfishing is still very new. We think it's a love letter to emotional intelligence. Who, other than an emotionally sorted and extremely secure person, would dare to play it down on purpose? It shows that young daters are more interested in finding the right match than impressing the wrong one. They are looking for more than surface-level attractions, even if that means they have to let go of their 'Insta-worthy' lifestyle for that,' says Ravi Mittal, founder and CEO of Quack Quack.advertisementTwenty-eight per cent of participants revealed going for matches that don't have the perfect display picture and bios that look straight out of an AI chatbot. While these polished profiles might indicate effort, somewhere, the authenticity is lost in trying hard to be perfect.Moreover, women feel that this trend acts as a perfect protective layer."A less glamorous profile attracts men who truly want to know me, instead of the 'pretty woman' in the picture. Ever since I have adopted this approach, the connections I have made have all been real, even if the numbers are slightly lower,' Anuja, a fitness coach from Bangalore, shares with the dating app team.Another way this approach helps daters is by managing their expectations.It manages expectations during the online interaction, only to exceed them when things go offline. They called it the 'surprise upgrade' that not only helps them find someone who genuinely likes their humble version with all the under-promising but also leads to over-delivering when the romance goes IRL.advertisementAre you team 'reverse catfishing' or not?
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