People more likely to lie on Twitter than in real life, survey reveals

Research suggests that people are more comfortable with being dishonest on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook than they are when speaking to someone face-to-face.

A survey of 2,012 people by Optimum Research, on behalf of Direct Line insurance, found that just 20 per cent of people said they were more honest when communicating via Twitter or text messages, while almost a third said they were more frank when speaking to someone in the flesh.

“Modern technologies, such as smartphones, social networking and instant messaging have been hailed as innovations in the way people interact, removing obstacles to conversation and allowing for openness of discourse,” said Glenn Wilson, a psychologist.

“However, we sometimes use these means of communication rather than a face-to-face encounter or a full conversation when we want to be untruthful, as it is easier to fib to someone when we don’t have to deal with their reactions or control our own body language.”