Mermaiding

Mermaiding is a common practice on Tinder, Plenty of Fish, etc. It involves women posting suggestive pics of themselves and claiming they are single and interested in dating YOU, and offering you an Instagram address to follow in order to contact them. Once you add their private account... you find out via all the pictures of her and her steroid user boyfriend(s) that in fact she just lured you onto the rocky shores to see your little life raft of hope and interest wrecked like so many many other sailors before you. "What just happened" you ask??? She got a new follower to keep funding her shenanigans, and you got another pie in the face that discourages you from dating anymore... and pushes you further towards John Galt'ing the thing all together.

Mermaids are a type of Siren.. if you dont know what a Siren is.. you need to brush up on Greek Mythology as it is VERY VERY applicable here. Go to Wikipedia and read up on Sirens..

There is a special place in hell.. near the betrayers, catfishers, lonley hearts scammers, Nigerian Scammers, and mutineers section, for Mermaids and Sirens as they prey on the hope and affection of others to make money to generally live a selfish and self absorbed lifestyle at the EXPENSE of you being their follower...

Michael Wilson coined this term as a gender opposite to "Catfishing" back in 2013 in an article about internet love scams for GAWKER, which was up and searchable until 2016.

Mermaiding: To create a fake profile on a dating site which you then use to falsely imply to men that you are interested in dating and talking to them via your Instagram account. Once they follow said private account, they find out you aren't single and have a man, but the scammer has gained another follower which they monetize to continue funding this ruse, at the victim/followers expense.

Friend: So what happened with that girl you were messaging on Tinder?
You: Ugh... once she accepted me on IG all of the pics of her and her boyfriend "magically" appeared..
Friend: So sorry Amigo.. you got MERMAIDED again
You: Yup.. but shes got like 120k followers and like 119k are men... so Im not the only one who got wrecked...
Friend: 119k guys inadverteheyntly paying her to do that S**T to their fellow men and live well doing it.. sad..

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