Why do individuals catfish?

I had heard this term a couple of times before today, but I never paid any interest, and I never bothered to find out exactly what it was.

Here is the Urban Dictionary definition. Basically, it means lying.

Today, I learned that I was taken in by a catfisher. It surprised me mainly because the practice of catfishing has got to be one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard of.

Why would anyone go to the trouble to invent a persona and then continue it over the course of years? It’s infantile.