Swiftfishing Is The Latest Manipulative Dating Trend To Keep An Eye Out For

If there's one celebrity who knows exactly how hard the dating world can be to navigate, it's Taylor Swift. The megastar has won over millions of fans during her nearly 20 years in the spotlight, mainly due to her relatable romantic lyrics that make her audience (and their heartbreaks) feel seen. For those who have been dumped, cheated on, led on, and rejected, Swift's music and the accompanying community is a safe space in a grim world. But now, the grim world is seeping into the Swiftie sanctuary via "Swiftfishing."

Just like ghostlighting, this is another toxic dating trend we're reluctantly ushering into the modern scene. A specialized take on catfishing, Swiftfishing involves winning over dates by pretending to like Taylor Swift. The concept was summed up perfectly by TikTok user Brianna LaPaglia, who believes that, while there are men out there who are genuine Swifties, a lot of them are just "using [Taylor Swift] to get the women."

If you've finally found a dream date who adores Taylor Swift the way you do, we don't mean to burst your bubble. He may really be the one who ends up kneeling to the ground and pulling out a ring and begging you to just say yes. But don't let your guard down just yet, because he may also be a Swiftfish.

The problem with a Swiftfish is that they look like regular Swifties at first glance. They might have a Taylor Swift lyric in their dating profile. Maybe they have a photo of themselves holding "Eras" concert tickets or their fashion is inspired by Taylor Swift's cardigan looks. These signs could point to either a genuine Swiftie or a phony, so you'll need to do some digging to filter out the fakes.

Bring up the Swift reference in their profile, whether a photo or a song lyric, and see what they say. Don't probe too much at first — just let them do the talking. If this person's strategy involves faking a Swift obsession to win dates, they'll likely go completely over the top trying to sell it, even without any prompting. Beware people who gush about Swift to the point where it's weird (yes, many of us want to praise Swift every hour of every day, but doing it early in a conversation with a potential date suggests an ulterior motive).

If they don't immediately give themselves away as a Swiftfish with an agenda, all you need to do is start a conversation about Swift and ask questions that only true Swifties would know. You could ask, "Do you think Taylor was secretly lying about the five holes in the fence?" Try to come up with something that isn't easy to Google and requires their unique opinion so they can't weasel their way out of it.

A few minutes of browsing through any dating app will confirm that Swiftfishing is definitely a widespread thing, but is it so bad? Not all Swifties think so. Reddit user @teddybonkerrs isn't fazed by it, revealing on the platform, "In theory, it's super creepy, but in reality how many of us have said we 'totally like XX band' or 'XX thing' when we were younger to impress someone?" On the flip side, real Swifties might get a tad irritated over being interrogated. "As a male swiftie, I've been accused of it many times. It's very annoying," explained user @efficient-bit5743.

The concept of trying to impress someone through the mention of exaggerated or fake interests might not inherently be problematic. However, this trend becomes worrying when people maintain a façade to lure potential dates into a false sense of security. Taylor Swift stands for self-love and self-respect among women, so if a potential date only pretends to agree with those values, it is a red flag. That's not to say that liking Taylor Swift is mandatory to be considered a good person, but actively targeting her fans by feigning interest in these important values is downright manipulative.

Ultimately, if your date only mentions that they like Taylor Swift but doesn't go overboard selling it — and they have enough great qualities that you don't care whether they like her or not — go for it. But if all they have to offer is a fake mutual interest? It's probably built to fall apart.