What Is Hoodfishing? The Sneaky New Dating Trend Taking Over New York City

The world of dating has undergone a significant transformation over the years. Gone are the days of relying on mutual friends to play matchmaker. The rise of social media, dating apps, and other digital platforms has revolutionised the way we connect with potential partners. Online dating has become the new norm, and with it, a fresh vocabulary has emerged to describe the ups and downs of modern romance. 

Now, a new dating trend has emerged in New York City: "hoodfishing."Hoodfishing is a term used to describe the act of misrepresenting one's location on online dating profiles, particularly in the New York City area. It involves individuals from surrounding areas, such as Long Island or New Jersey, claiming to live in NYC to appear more desirable or attractive to potential matches. Basically, "hoodfishers" aim to cast a wider net and attract potential matches who might be deterred by their actual location.

This phenomenon is similar to "catfishing," where people fabricate online personas, but specifically relates to falsifying one's location. Hoodfishing can lead to difficulties when trying to coordinate dates, as the actual distance between individuals may be much greater than initially thought.

The phenomenon was brought to light by comedian Jared Fried on TikTok. Mr Fried said he noticed a curious trend: numerous individuals from Long Island and Westchester claiming to reside in New York City. He noted that this led to frustrating dating experiences, as would-be suitors struggled to coordinate meetups due to their dates' actual far-flung locations.

''Every few conversations on [a dating] app, there's a woman who is like … 'Oh, I live in Westchester,' or 'I live on Long Island,'' even though their profiles said they are located in the city, Mr Fried said. 

His expose has resonated with many, highlighting the absurdity of digital dishonesty in the pursuit of love.

However, many women commented saying that putting their location as NYC on their dating app profiles increased their matches. One woman from central New Jersey confessed that she boosted her dating prospects by claiming to live in New York City. It only took her two months to find a match once she changed her location to Midtown.

''As long as men height-fish, income-fish, marital status-fish, I will keep hood fishing,'' said another woman.