Truthis a valuable resource, and when we lack it, we may go to extreme lengths to replicate it. Yet, sometimes people can tell the difference between the fake and the real thing.Reddit userRobDa59asked others on the platform to share the lies they’ve heard the most, and the replies immediately started pouring in—a couple of thousand in just a few days.Whether it’s because everyone’s guilty of using the same false claims themselves or they’ve simply grown tired of hearing them over and over again, apparently, some lines aren’t fooling anyone.This post may includeaffiliate links.
Truthis a valuable resource, and when we lack it, we may go to extreme lengths to replicate it. Yet, sometimes people can tell the difference between the fake and the real thing.
Reddit userRobDa59asked others on the platform to share the lies they’ve heard the most, and the replies immediately started pouring in—a couple of thousand in just a few days.
Whether it’s because everyone’s guilty of using the same false claims themselves or they’ve simply grown tired of hearing them over and over again, apparently, some lines aren’t fooling anyone.
This post may includeaffiliate links.
“I have read and agree to the terms and conditions”.
We got in touch withDr. John A. Johnson, professor emeritus of psychology at Penn State University, to learn more about morality, and he toldBored Pandathat before we can talk about lying, we need to be clear about the definition.
“From my perspective, lying is more than just saying something that is not true. First, the liar must be aware that what they are saying is not true,” Dr. Johnson highlighted. “If I say something untrue but genuinely believe it is true, that is not a lie; that is just a mistake.”
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But, according to Dr. Johnson, there are many possible things to be gained beyond the obvious ones, such as money and power.“So-called white lies are meant to spare a person’s feelings. What the teller of the white lie gains from [it] is feeling good about themselves because they avoided hurting someone’s feelings or creating an uncomfortable social situation,” he explained.Now, we can get to what many of you probably believe to be the main question: why do people lie, even when it doesn’t seem to be necessary? Dr. Johnson said that, paradoxically, in many cases, it’s probably because peoplethinkit’s necessary.“It doesn’t occur to them that there are other ways of gaining what they consider valuable without lying. Or, in other cases, lying seems easier than telling the truth. Or, it is simply a habit,” he said.
But, according to Dr. Johnson, there are many possible things to be gained beyond the obvious ones, such as money and power.
“So-called white lies are meant to spare a person’s feelings. What the teller of the white lie gains from [it] is feeling good about themselves because they avoided hurting someone’s feelings or creating an uncomfortable social situation,” he explained.
Now, we can get to what many of you probably believe to be the main question: why do people lie, even when it doesn’t seem to be necessary? Dr. Johnson said that, paradoxically, in many cases, it’s probably because peoplethinkit’s necessary.
“It doesn’t occur to them that there are other ways of gaining what they consider valuable without lying. Or, in other cases, lying seems easier than telling the truth. Or, it is simply a habit,” he said.
If the surgeon says, “you’ll experience some mild discomfort.” You know it’s gonna hurt like hell. It’s guaranteed.
“I’m fine; how are you?”.
We also got in touch with RobDa59, the Redditor who initiated the discussion andcan be found on Instagramunder the same nickname.“I found myself going through emails for a weekly radio show I co-host when I was clearing spam/fake emails [and] wondering what the most common lies people hear or say,” he told us about the origins of the post.RobDa59 said, “I do believe some ‘lies’ to be acceptable in the sense that some truths do not always need to be said; as well some ‘lies’ can make someone’s day better, and with how hard life can be sometimes that small lie to cheer someone up is needed.”
We also got in touch with RobDa59, the Redditor who initiated the discussion andcan be found on Instagramunder the same nickname.
“I found myself going through emails for a weekly radio show I co-host when I was clearing spam/fake emails [and] wondering what the most common lies people hear or say,” he told us about the origins of the post.
RobDa59 said, “I do believe some ‘lies’ to be acceptable in the sense that some truths do not always need to be said; as well some ‘lies’ can make someone’s day better, and with how hard life can be sometimes that small lie to cheer someone up is needed.”
“Sorry, just seeing your text now”.
“You can do anything if you our your mind to it.” Just no. We all have our limitations. I could study my a*s off and cut out all junk food and work out non stop. Does it mean Im going to be the next Elon Musk or Albert Einstein or Usain Bolt? No. We all have limitations and only a select few will truly succeed in life.
Dr. Johnson also acknowledges there’s a possibility that a lie can lead to a positive outcome. (For the sake of simplicity, let’s all agree to moral universalism—at least this time.)“Some lies are harmless and may even be beneficial. That is actually a difficult thing for me to say because, as I mentioned, I am uncomfortable with even small lies,” the psychologist said. “But, the thing is, absolutes rarely describe life accurately, and that includes lying. Life is not so simple and black-and-white such that every intentional untruth is always wrong.“Lies can have both positive and negative consequences for both liars and their audiences, and it can be difficult to sum up the total positives and negatives for any lie. (Of course, many lies have obviously negative consequences, which is why our culture generally judges lying to be immoral.)“But, Dr. Johnson added, sometimes even the truth itself is “fuzzy” and “hard to determine.” Remember the used-car salesperson who says a car with engine defects in the past will run fine in the future? “This is certainly a sneaky, misleading thing to say to the customer. But maybe the mechanics corrected the defects sufficiently for the car to run fine for years. Who knows? Lying is a gray area.”
Dr. Johnson also acknowledges there’s a possibility that a lie can lead to a positive outcome. (For the sake of simplicity, let’s all agree to moral universalism—at least this time.)
“Some lies are harmless and may even be beneficial. That is actually a difficult thing for me to say because, as I mentioned, I am uncomfortable with even small lies,” the psychologist said. “But, the thing is, absolutes rarely describe life accurately, and that includes lying. Life is not so simple and black-and-white such that every intentional untruth is always wrong.
“Lies can have both positive and negative consequences for both liars and their audiences, and it can be difficult to sum up the total positives and negatives for any lie. (Of course, many lies have obviously negative consequences, which is why our culture generally judges lying to be immoral.)”
But, Dr. Johnson added, sometimes even the truth itself is “fuzzy” and “hard to determine.” Remember the used-car salesperson who says a car with engine defects in the past will run fine in the future? “This is certainly a sneaky, misleading thing to say to the customer. But maybe the mechanics corrected the defects sufficiently for the car to run fine for years. Who knows? Lying is a gray area.”
I can quit anytime I want.
We value your call.
Corporate one -> ”If there are any questions, please don‘t hesitate to ask“.
51% of the time, people lied to their friends; 21% to family; 11% to school/business colleagues; 8.9% to strangers; and 8.5% to casual acquaintances.
I’m good.I do it all the time and I’m sure everyone else does too. None of our lives are as put together as we’d like to let others believe, so we just lie and say we’re good and move on. It’s really sad in actuality.
I’ll be there in 5 minutes.
“Nah it didn’t cost much”.
“As I indicated, for some people, lying is a habit that they developed because of a long history of successful lying, getting what they wanted more often than not from lying,” Dr. Johnson said. “A habitual liar has become very comfortable with their lying because it has been so successful.““Donald Trump, who some claim has told more lies than any US President, may fall into this category. Everybody but everybody lies because that is part of human nature. I’ve certainly told my share of lies in my life. But I couldn’t become a habitual liar because I have never felt comfortable with lying,” he added.
“As I indicated, for some people, lying is a habit that they developed because of a long history of successful lying, getting what they wanted more often than not from lying,” Dr. Johnson said. “A habitual liar has become very comfortable with their lying because it has been so successful.”
“Donald Trump, who some claim has told more lies than any US President, may fall into this category. Everybody but everybody lies because that is part of human nature. I’ve certainly told my share of lies in my life. But I couldn’t become a habitual liar because I have never felt comfortable with lying,” he added.
“He will change”, “I can fix him”.
“I recently read somewhere that…”Aka, saw something on an Instagram reel.
“I’ll do it tomorrow.”.
For example, Dr. Johnson recalled the time he strongly objected to claiming a son was a year younger than his actual age just to pay less money for a children’s ticket. But people are different. “Many are perfectly comfortable with misrepresenting their age or the age of their children to get a discount on a ticket. We differ in our comfort levels with lying.“However, the psychologist reminded us there is also a class of people with personality disorders who enjoy lying to manipulate or even hurt others.“There are three clusters of personality disorders: (A) Eccentric, (B) Dramatic, and (C) Fearful. For people with cluster B disorders (antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic), lying is a way of life,” Dr. Johnson said. “People with cluster B disorders feel absolutely no remorse about lying and actually get a kick out of manipulating others, hurting them, or getting them into trouble with lies.“Personality disorders are serious illnesses that exist on a continuum, from the full-blown clinical disorder to milder, sub-clinical cases. So, some people with a mild version of a cluster B disorder might enjoying lying once in a while because they think it’s fun.”
For example, Dr. Johnson recalled the time he strongly objected to claiming a son was a year younger than his actual age just to pay less money for a children’s ticket. But people are different. “Many are perfectly comfortable with misrepresenting their age or the age of their children to get a discount on a ticket. We differ in our comfort levels with lying.”
However, the psychologist reminded us there is also a class of people with personality disorders who enjoy lying to manipulate or even hurt others.
“There are three clusters of personality disorders: (A) Eccentric, (B) Dramatic, and (C) Fearful. For people with cluster B disorders (antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic), lying is a way of life,” Dr. Johnson said. “People with cluster B disorders feel absolutely no remorse about lying and actually get a kick out of manipulating others, hurting them, or getting them into trouble with lies.
“Personality disorders are serious illnesses that exist on a continuum, from the full-blown clinical disorder to milder, sub-clinical cases. So, some people with a mild version of a cluster B disorder might enjoying lying once in a while because they think it’s fun.”
I will call u back.
I was already awake.
“I promise I will return your money back.”.
Lying has become such a big part of the world that RobDa59 isn’t even sure how he would imagine everyday life if everybody suddenly stopped doing it.“I do believe politics would be a lot different; but in an individual’s daily life, it could lead to a lot of awkward situations!” he said.
Lying has become such a big part of the world that RobDa59 isn’t even sure how he would imagine everyday life if everybody suddenly stopped doing it.
“I do believe politics would be a lot different; but in an individual’s daily life, it could lead to a lot of awkward situations!” he said.
I floss everyday!
“…till death do us part”.
“I’m not mad”.
No, honey. You don’t look fat in that…
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Height (overstate)Weight (understate).
I’m 1/8 native American.
That they washed their hands after using the bathroom.
It’s not u, it’s me.
I’m here for you.
“Just one more…”.
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For the city-dwellers: Sorry, I don’t have any cash on me.
“Good to see you”.
“It’ll only take a minute”.
I’m allergic to latex.
“I’m proficient in Excel”.
The weight you put on your driver’s license.
“He’s just a friend”.
Your food tastes amazing.
Let me know if you need anything. I’m here to help.
“I’m omw” but they just woke up.
I stopped at that stop sign.
I had 2 drinks.
I just wanna be with you/I don’t fantasize about anyone else.That’s the most common serious lie imo 🤷🏼♀️.
“I only had 1 drink”…. Every male to their partner.
I love you too.
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