U.S. adult who have interacted with a catfish by gender 2022

As of January 2022, 15 percent of responding male and 12 percent of responding female U.S. adults reported they they had definitely interacted with a catfish on social media. Overall, 18 percent of men said they probably had interacted with a catfish on social media. The vast majority of those asked stated they had never interacted with a catfish via a social media platform.

Share of adults in the United States who think they have ever interacted with a catfish on social media as of January 2022, by gender

Characteristic	Male	Female
Yes, definitely	15%	12%
Yes, probably	18%	16%
No, probably not	17%	16%
No, definitely not	39%	37%
Don't know/No opinion	11%	19%

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Release date

January 2022

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

January 14 to 15, 2022

Number of respondents

2,211 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

Original question: "To the best of your knowledge, do you think that you or anyone you know has ever interacted with a catfish on social media? Yourself".
The source defines catfishing as a situation "where users are tricked by fake accounts into online relationships and sometimes scammed out of money".
Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

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