'Sadfishing' social media trend could be symptomatic of 'concerning' issues, says psychologist

The latest social media trend, "sadfishing," is igniting plenty of conversations as users become increasingly drawn to "attention seekers."

The habit of "sadfishing" is defined as "the tendency of social media users to publish exaggerations of their personality to generate sympathy," according to a 2021 research paper published in the Journal of American College.

The research found that many "sadfishers" display anxious attachment. It concluded that this "may not be triggered by an acute perceived lack of social support, but rather, may be more strongly related to the persistent trait of anxious attachment."

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Don Grant, PhD, national adviser for Healthy Device Management of Newport Healthcare in Los Angeles, California, told Fox News Digital that the phenomenon is nothing new.

The award-winning media psychologist, speaker and published researcher said the trend came to national attention with a campaign featuring Kendall Jenner in 2019, when she posted about her struggle with acne as part of her partnership with Proactiv.

A social media trend, "sadfishing," is when users draw attention to themselves by exaggerating their emotions or situations. It may be rooted in an underlying mental health issue, said one psychologist and speaker. (iStock)

"This person is putting something, you know, that's kind of vague or sounds, frankly, a little ominous or something sad," he said about today's "sadfishing." 

Grant said that at the beginning and end of his presentations, he proposes questions.

"My friends who are close to me know what's going on with me. They know what my daily life is," he said.

"If you are putting anything on social media, what is your motivation for what you need or want people to know who are not in your close circle? What is your reason for posting? What's your motivation for posting something for the whole world [to see]?"

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Grant said that for "sadfishers," it is case-dependent and can be concerning.

"If it's chronic, then absolutely. I couldn't pretend to know or guess what it is for everybody," he said. 

"But I would say it's definitely a cry for something." 

Don Grant, PhD, a media psychologist, speaker and published researcher, told Fox News Digital that "sadposting" is a "cry for something." (Newport Health)

He said the manifestation could be a real diagnosis. On other occasions, it could be a one-off and be fueled by drinking or being under the influence, which wouldn’t draw too much concern, he said. 

Grant said he's had firsthand experience in seeing posts by people that can cause alarm.

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"We’ve seen [sadfishing posts] that we've actually had to make calls and do welfare checks [about]," he said. "Those of us who know the person or their colleague — we do a welfare check on that because it's so concerning."

Grant said he has seen "sadfishing" occur across many age groups and platforms, but that there is variety in the intensity of it, depending on the platform used.

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On some platforms, it's "more static, meaning it's just a post as opposed to something like TikTok, where you can [post] videos. Some of the videos are even more chilling. If you just see a post and it's a phrase or two with pictures, or it's someone saying they're sad …that's hard enough," he said. 

"But when you have a video-based social media platform, you can see them, you can hear the cadence of the [person's] voice. It's very dramatic. That's more impacting."

Sixty-two percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use TikTok. That's much higher than the share among adults ages 65 years and older, at 10%, according to a Pew Research Center survey. (iStock)

Pew Research Center found that the youngest U.S. adults are far more likely to use Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok as opposed to other platforms.

"I would propose that those would be more skewed toward younger generations because the older generations and certainly the digital immigrants aren't really creators, prolifically on TikTok or even on Instagram," he said.

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Sixty-two percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use TikTok. That's much higher than the share among adults ages 65 years and older at 10%, according to the Pew Research Center survey.

Some social media users took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their impressions of the trend.

"It's attention-seeking behavior, but may come from real anxiety or depression," one woman surmised.

"Real-life connection to me is the antidote for just about any problem," said one psychologist, speaker and author.  (iStock)

"I know a number of people who do this," said another user.

"'Sadfishing'? That's basically being a teenager/young adult, lol," one user posted.

"People don’t have real-life friends … and come here for fake attention from sob stories," another person commented.

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Grant said social media "can be a great connector," but he doesn't think it should be "the primary connector."

He said rebuilding social relationships in person and speaking with mental health professionals are the smartest alternatives to publicly sharing "sob stories."

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If you see a post that makes you worried about a loved one, pick up the phone and give the person a call, Grant suggested.

"Real-life connection to me is the antidote for just about any problem," he said.