Kendall Jenner inspired 'sadfishing' trend puts children at risk of being bullied, says study
A trend inspired by 'Keeping Up with The Kardashians' star Kendall Jenner could very well be putting children at the risk of getting bullied or groomed.
The term 'sadfishing' is used to describe a situation where a person posts something about an emotional/mental problem that they are having online in an attempt to be able to hook an audience and gain attention. The term was put together after celebrities like Jenner were accused of oversharing their personal problems as a means to gain attention and get more likes and shares.
In the case of Kendall Jenner who had shared some emotional posts about her acnely left her fans and followers with mixed reactions. Her post seemed like a big overshare and she was criticized for doing so to get attention.
As reported by Birmingham Mail, youngsters are being accused of attention-seeking after giving out details on personal issues online in search of support. According to a new study by Digital Awareness UK (DAUK), many young people who are facing genuine issues and problems resort to looking for help on the internet, which could very well lead to bullying and grooming.
In such cases, the person seeking help is usually left disappointed and is much worse off than before airing their problems on the internet. This could make the person's emotional or mental health problems much worse than they initially were.
A student from grade 7 shared with researchers that he had used Instagram to express his feelings when he was low due to problems at home. "I got a lot of people commenting on and 'liking' my post but then some people said I was 'sadfishing' the next day at school for attention," the student revealed.
"Sharing my feelings online has made me feel worse in some ways but supported in others," the student continued. The study also states, "Groomers can also use comments that express a need for emotional support as a platform to connect with young people and gain their trust, only to try and exploit it at a later point."
