The Internet has become an indispensable part in the lives of millions of people around the world. People socialize, solve business issues, job hunt and entertain. The Internet provides incredible opportunities in the dating industry. The question is whether you can fully trust this person on the Internet? Today we will talk about lying online.
“Everybody lies”
This is not just a phrase from “House, M.D.” Studies show that not all and more than half of the users lie on the Internet. Thus, according to data of B2B International and “Kaspersky Lab”, 57% of people embellish reality or do not tell the truth. Their study included more than 21,000 people from 32 countries aged 16+.
16% of people surveyed confessed that they lie to look more attractive and interesting for a potential partner. And in many cases, this is truly justified. For instance, the popular dating website OKCupid reports that girls, whose profiles fall under the generally accepted beauty canons, receive 11 times more messages.
What do ladies lie about and why?
Studies have given a rather unexpected result. 34% of girls surveyed admitted that they lie about themselves because of fear. They fear that scammers and blackmailers may use their real data. And these fears are not groundless. You really need to be careful and analyze where and what information you write about yourself on the Web.
Many users of dating websites (both men and women) prefer not to advertise the fact that they use such services. And they don’t want friends to know about it. Therefore, they change the name, photo, city of residence in the profile, and so on. 5% of respondents admitted that in this way they are hiding from their partners. Another 3% are registered under a false name to test their own partner.
Things women lie about on the Internet most of all:
- Age. This works both ways: young girls prefer to “add” a couple of years to look more presentable in the eyes of men. And those who are older, decrease their age or even try not to talk about it.
- Place of residence. If, for example, a country and a city of residence is provided without any problems, things are more complicated with respect to specific information. Most ladies prefer not to disclose the district of the city and the address or they give fake data for security reasons.
- Weight. The topic of weight does not pop up so often in online communication. But on many dating websites it must be indicated in the profile. Often, girls subtract a couple of extra pounds to be more attractive in the eyes of a potential partner. In some cases, it comes to artificial “weight loss” in the profile photo using the photo editor.
- Marital status and children. Married girls and single mothers with children rarely talk about this, preferring to hide the truth as long as possible. Although, in terms of relations, it is men who often lie about that.
- Interests. Many girls understand that they can attract a man not only by appearance, but also by their personality. According to The Red Playground, 49% of dating app users have said they find it easy to connect with those who share similar interests and hobbies. Therefore, they attribute more “winning” interests to themselves: literature, sports, video games, and others.
By the way, many experts divide the lie on the Internet into two types. The first is a distorted way to present yourself from the best side. It is the one we described in the paragraphs above. But the second type of lie is caused by a reluctance to meet in real life. This is the so-called “white lie.” A girl may not tell you openly that she does not want to meet in person. Instead, she comes up with softer excuses: “arrival of relatives,” “business trip,” “phone issues,” etc.
A lie in video chats with strangers: what is it like?
A random chat is a special communication format where it’s not so easy to lie, like on dating websites. After all, the partner sees you, and can estimate age and body type. Therefore, it is not only useless to hide the truth, but frankly unwise.
However, when chatting with strangers, there are enough misunderstandings and lies. For example, about the place of residence, marital status, interests, etc. Yes, and age can be a little trick – this is unlikely to be critical. But the difference between 29 and 31 may seem very significant for some. Therefore, age occupies the first place among online chat lies.
At first glance, random chats do not give as much freedom for lies as the same dating websites or social networks. Indeed, video communication puts its limitations. But does it protect against untruth sufficiently? Of course not! Studies show that an average person lies 3 times during a 10-minute conversation. When communicating with a stranger, the number of lies can be much higher. It can be an outright lie, as well as a slight misrepresentation of the truth, to get more interest in the interlocutor.
There is a curious statistics in video chats with strangers:
- 33% of women lie about the earnings and expenses when talking about it;
- 65% of people are confident that the lie is the most reasonable way to avoid offending the interlocutor;
- men lie twice as much than women do.
Does all this mean that you can’t trust people on the Internet? Not really. Many tell lies for good reasons. Often this is such an insignificant lie that it can be ignored. For better or worse, lies are all around us on a daily basis.
Surely best friends or even soulmates also repeatedly tell you a lie or misrepresent the facts. Probably, for your own good. In 99% of the cases it is not a reason for arguments or termination of communication in any form. The same applies to online communication. If a girl lies about her age during the first meeting on the Web, this is not so scary.
Perhaps, she sincerely wants to impress you and resorts to such tricks.
Consider any information on the Internet with some skepticism, but do not be paranoid. It is possible that one day you will have to tell a lie in order to interest the date and, as a result, have strong and warm relations with them for life.
About Carson Derrow
