It’s not just the ladies out there lying away on Facebook and Twitter. Men are at it too. For, why would anyone want to project a negative image of themselves on networks designed to make people brag about their lives, asks Emma Barnett.
According to a new poll, women consistently lie on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, in order to present the best versions of themselves.
Well first things first: the said survey only questioned women. Sadly OnePoll, the company asking the questions, did not extend their queries to men.
However, I did. Using my social profile on both Facebook and Twitter, I did my own very unscientific poll and found that most women and men agreed – people aren’t lying per se. Both genders just ain’t sharing the bad stuff about their lives on their respective social networks and so the‘humble brag’ was born.
You know the statuses I am talking about because we’ve all done it: “Just checking into the VIP lounge at BA”, or “OMG just met Rob Lowe #blush”, (that second one is actually my own and I included a photo with the status – garnering some 37 likes or so). Come on it was Rob Lowe and we were in Wales at the Hay Festival.
But why would you share the bad stuff in your life in a status update? These digital networks, which now dominate most people’s lives, weren’t designed to encourage people to share negative news.
The clue lies in the name: ‘social’ networks. As one of my wise female friends on Facebook wrote (herself an avid sharer of information, photos and location updates) in answer to my brilliant poll question: “I don’t think women lie. I just think that there might be an imbalance of emotion-sharing on Facebook. No-one wants to look like a nutter, so sadness is usually dealt with privately, whereas happiness is shared.
“It can appear deceptive as it means Facebook doesn’t display the whole truth, I suppose, but should everyone really share everything on Facebook? Women would go for coffee or make a phone call when in need of comfort or reassurance – no matter how many ‘likes’ you get, a physical hug can’t be replaced!”
Quite. And while this particular survey found some women were writing fibs, pretending they were out on the town, (when really they were sat at home on the sofa eating crisps while frantically refreshing Facebook with updates about the life they could be arsed living), most people I know don’t lie to that extent. It’s more about selectively sharing the best bits of their lives so the perception of their entire lives being one big party becomes a lie – but no actual lying.
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source: The Telegraph/ Emma Barnett
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