by Jessica Rogers
With relationship statuses constantly changing from “single” to “in a relationship,” it is hard not to want a boyfriend or girlfriend.
Manti Te’o, linebacker for the University of Notre Dame, made the jump into a relationship only to discover that his girlfriend was a hoax. Yep, you read it correctly. Manti Te’o was “catfished,” a term for someone in an online relationship who has never met the other person outside of the Internet. Most of these relationships turn out to be hoaxes.
When a teenager is caught in a “catfish” relationship, it is considered bullying, but since Te’o is an adult, and a football player on top of that, the general public finds the situation quite humorous. Because football players are praised and looked at as gods, Te’o’s virtual girlfriend Lennay Kekua proved that even the omniscient linebacker can get punked by social networking.
Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the man behind Lennay Kekua, said he thought he was doing what was in the best interest for Te’o. I wish I had such a caring person as Tuiasosopo to create the perfect person for me to chat with on Facebook and then tell me that it was all a lie and to get rid of the page.
Te’o’s fakeationship began in 2009 and ended early in 2013 when Te’o felt something wasn’t right. He realized he was being “catfished” when Tuiasosopo ended Kekua’s persona by deleting her page after the “couple” got into an argument. Tuiasosopo took a low blow with the abrupt ending, but I guess if you truly love something you must let it go.
I honestly feel bad for Manti Te’o and how he got caught up in all of the digital drama, but there’s another part of me that doesn’t feel bad at all. From the time I was able to understand words, my parents have drilled the “don’t talk to strangers” mantra, and when I first got Facebook, they added the “don’t friend anybody you don’t know” speech. I’m pretty sure everyone has had similar discussions with their parents.
The best thing that has come from the whole situation is that teenagers get to see how embarrassing it can be if they don’t behave on social networking sites because everyone can see what is posted. Te’o made a mistake that led to a plague of “fake-girlfriend” jokes and to many talk show requests for Te’o and Tuiasosopo to talk about their online rendezvous.
I only hope Te’o will take a break from finding love online and try romance the old fashioned way by inviting his next girlfriend to dinner and a movie.
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