"Catfish", in case you've not seen it, is an indie documentary that was (supposedly, but that's another issue) intended to be about an 8-year-old girl who stunned the filmmaker with her artistic painting talent. It turns out that the girl's mom is actually the real artist and because she has some possible social anxiety issues or whatever, she's created a complex web of lies. And there's a pun in that statement because the "web" of lies thrives and is supported by an intricate network of faked web sites and Facebook accounts.
The situation I uncovered isn't pertaining to anyone I actually know in real life, but revolves around a vlogger I follow on YouTube. I mentioned him in this post a while back when I admitted I enjoy
His name is Leander and he lives in The Hague, Netherlands. He openly admits he has some hefty mental health issues which currently prevent him from working and maintaining many relationships in the real world. Basically, we see him interact only with his immediate family most of the time.
But he's gone on and on, for over a year and a half now, about his boyfriend Colin. He say's he met Colin through his YouTube videos when he started posting complimentary comments that eventually evolved into flirts. In fact, these comments do exist and Colin does continue to comment on occasion. They've never met in person as Colin supposedly lives in West Virginia and hasn't gone to visit despite the fact he's supposedly an engineer who lives in his own house in the countryside.
You see, I think that there is no Colin.
I think Leander created him.
He's just a fantasy.
Leander has shared a lot on his vlogs. He shows much of what goes on, what little there may be most times, each and every day. He's put his mom and other friends on speakerphone frequently so we can hear them. Never Colin. He's shown himself Facetiming and Skyping with family and other Internet friends. He says that he and Colin Skype regularly, but he's never shown him in his vlogs. He has pictures of Colin but there are only about 4 or 5 of them total. In a year and a half. And they're the same photos available on "Colin's" sites like his YouTube channel (which has NO video uploads) and other sites.
Speaking of those other sites, I discovered that Colin's online presence goes back further than the time he started commenting on Leander's YouTube videos. Back even to when Friendster was a popular social media site and he's apparently "dating" some other guy. But wait, as you read through these ancient posts you discover they eventually broke up. Why? Because they could never reconcile their inability to meet.
Yup, another internet love story where the parties never met one another.
I haven't gotten far enough yet in my investigation as to whether or not this other guy exists either. He too could be a part of the web of lies Leander has created out of thin air. I found out that Colin's username from this time period points to a site in Indonesia, and not in English but in Indonesian. Colin is supposed to be a country white boy from the American south. Not likely he'd know Indonesian. But who would? Leander is Dutch of Indonesian decent.
Oh the internet. The great ocean of anonymity and obfuscation. If you're reading this and have never met me, how do you know I even exist?
Sometimes, even I don't know for sure.