kittenfishing
/KIT-uhn-fish-ing/noun · verb
Meaning
The practice of presenting a slightly improved, exaggerated, or misleading version of yourself online, especially on a dating app. Kittenfishing can involve old or heavily edited photos, misstated age or height, inflated accomplishments, or a profile that selectively highlights traits to create a more appealing impression.[1][2][3]
- 1. The act of making small, deliberate changes to a dating profile so the person appears more attractive, successful, younger, taller, or interesting than they really are.
- 2. A softer form of catfishing in which the person is genuine but the profile presents an unrealistically positive version of them.
- 3. The use of selective self-presentation that may be partly intentional and partly the result of overselling oneself online.
Examples
“His outdated photos and inflated height made the kittenfishing obvious.”
“I wasn't catfished, but the kittenfishing became clear when we met.”
“Using one ancient gym selfie on every dating profile is kittenfishing.”
“Calling one college hike a lifelong passion for trekking felt like kittenfishing.”
“The profile was real, but its edited photos and inflated job title amounted to kittenfishing.”
Origin and spread
Kittenfishing was introduced by the dating app Hinge in June 2017 as a playful, milder counterpart to catfishing. The formation replaces the larger animal in catfishing with kitten to suggest a smaller-scale deception: the person is real, but the presentation is embellished. Dating and lifestyle publications began reporting the term by late June and early July 2017, describing examples such as outdated or edited photos and exaggerated claims about age, height, interests, and accomplishments. The record supports Hinge as the source of the documented coinage and media spread, but does not establish that the underlying behavior began with the word.[1][3]
How to use it
Kittenfishing is informal and often playful, but it still carries an accusation of dishonesty. It usually refers to dating profiles rather than ordinary flattering self-presentation. Calling someone a kittenfisher implies that the mismatch is substantial enough to affect expectations, not merely that they chose their best recent photo.
Sources
- 1. Bustle — The New Dating Epidemic You Need To Know AboutSupports: meaning, origin.
- 2. The Independent — Kittenfishing is the new online dating term you've probably experiencedSupports: meaning, form.
- 3. CBS News Los Angeles — Are You Guilty Of 'Kittenfishing?' Matchmaker Warns Of Online Dating DeceptionSupports: meaning, origin.
- 4. Wiktionary — kittenfishingSupports: earliest documented use, form.
