What does "sadfishing" mean?

The practice of writing about one’s unhappiness or emotional problems on social media, especially in a vague way, in order to attract attention and a sympathetic response.

Sadfishing

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
The practice of writing about one’s unhappiness or emotional problems on social media, especially in a vague way, in order to attract attention and a sympathetic response. Internet, uncountable
"A report […] says that accusations of so-called sadfishing could be further harming already vulnerable children and young people with mental health problems."

Verb

1
present participle and gerund of sadfish form-of, gerund, participle, present

Example

More examples

"A report […] says that accusations of so-called sadfishing could be further harming already vulnerable children and young people with mental health problems."

Etymology

Blend of sad + catfishing, implying that this is an exploitative and deceptive online act.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.