Warning! Major spoilers for Clickbait below.
Although Dawn is responsible for much of what happens in Clickbait, she's isn't the real villain of the show. After it was revealed that she was posing as Nick online, Dawn is framed as an antagonist; however, that title belongs to her husband Ed. The actions he took after seeing what Dawn was wrapped up in took a turn for the truly villainous.
The twist ending of Netflix's Clickbait quickly introduced Ed's involvement in the whole situation. Dawn began posing as Nick online and initiating flirtatious conversations because she was lonely. Once Ed discovered what she was doing, he shut it down; however, he was too late — Nick realized what Dawn was doing and came to confront her. In a moment mirroring his dad's response, Nick's son Kai returned to Ed and Dawn's home to confront his dad's tormentors.
Dawn regretted her actions when she was confronted, but Ed didn't appear to. Instead, he killed Nick (Adrian Grenier) and nearly killed his son as well. In the grand scheme of things, Dawn was more of an internet troll that took things too far. She never really meant any harm. Although that doesn't clear her of any wrong-doing, she wasn't nearly as despicable as her husband: Ed nearly killed two people, making him the true villain of Clickbait.
While it ended up being harmful, Dawn didn't have any cruel motivations behind catfishing women as Nick. Without children, she felt lonely, and she enjoyed the attention she got by posing as her successful, attractive boss. Furthermore, the Netflix TV series showed that Dawn also felt invisible and likely struggled with self-esteem issues. Nick was a charming and traditionally good-looking guy, so she felt living as him would give her a taste of a full life. She was right — as soon as she began online relationships with women, she was noticeably happier. Yet, after Ed murdered Nick, it was clear that she regretted her actions. She cradled Nick's body in a way that exuded guilt. She also eventually came to regret kidnapping Nick's son Kai, and worked with the police to make sure that they got him back alive.
Ed, on the other hand, had malicious intentions behind every action he took in this situation. When Nick confronted Dawn, Ed fatally struck him on the head without a second thought. When he and Dawn kidnapped Kai, Ed came dangerously close to shooting the young boy to save himself — he probably would've done it if Dawn hadn't approached him with the police. In order to be classified as a villain, one must act with the clear intention of harming others. While Dawn's actions were foolish, she didn't mean to harm Nick or those women. Ed, on the other hand, acted with clear malice, making him the true villain of Clickbait.