​MTV recently premiered Catfish: The TV Show, a new program about the risks, perks and deception of online dating, on Nov. 12 at 11 p.m.

In the first episode, Sunny, a teen victim of online deception, went to meet her online boyfriend who turned out to be someone entirely different from who she had previously thought. According to mtv.com, “in each episode…a hopeful romantic partner will go on an emotional journey to discover the truth about their significant other….These incredible voyages will be filled with mystery, uncertainty, forgiveness, joy and sometimes, even shocking revelations.”

According to statisticbrain.com, 10 percent of sex offenders use online dating to meet people.

With online dating, it can never be certain that the person someone claims to be is truly who they are. According tostatisticbrain.com, 20 percent of current committed relationships begin online. However, Catfish: The TV Show proves it can take a while to find someone through the internet who isn’t hiding behind the monitor.
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According to mbaprograms.org, 81 percent of people lie about their height, weight or age on his or her dating profile. As seen on Catfish: The TV Show, in every episode so far, the online lover has lied about their appearance, by using photos of other people on their online profiles.

Although the ambiguity of online dating is clearly apparent, it has seemed to boom in recent years.

In 2007, 20 million people visited or used an online dating site, but the number has now doubled, according tombaprograms.org.

Whether online daters are using the internet to avoid traditional first-date jitters or to attain a rush from the unknown, the online dating trend is certainly here to stay, and MTV is on top of it every Monday night at 11 p.m.