this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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I don't get why there needs to be a whole lengthy article on this. Yes, it's sad. But is it really any different than all those webcam sites where they pretend to be in to you? Or back in the old days a guy with a high voice on the sexphone telling they are "so wet in bed right now" while making dinner for the family? Nothing in the porn/sex/entertainment world is real. Sometimes the people are, but sometimes they are not. And maybe they know it's fake and therefore are not holding back since they don't Harm the individual in the clip? (OK probably not the last one, but still...)
This and 50-60+ years of being able to take video at face value.
Add to that the fact that a lot of them are lonely and probably have been for a very long time.
We already knew the elderly were particularly vulnerable to scams. AI just turbo charges the same scams we've been seeing for awhile. It's catfishing but taken to a whole new level and the elderly are already a vulnerable target.
It's a lot easier for us young people to learn new media literacy and accept that things are changing.
This is not an endorsement of the behavior. It's pointing out that we already pretty much knew this was going to be a thing. This isn't much different than your grandma trying to send money to some scammers who called her about an overdue bill or late taxes.