Deception at Light Speed
Experiences such as the one I had with Chris
are multiplying by the thousands: some people
online lie quite drastically about their age, marital
or parental status, appearance, income or
profession. There are even Web sites, such as
www.DontDateHimGirl.com, where people go
to gripe, and a few lawsuits have been filed
against online services by disgruntled suitors.
Just how bad is deception in online dating?
To put this issue in context, bear in mind that
deception has always played at least a small role in courting. One could even argue that deception
is a necessary part of wooing a potential partner
(“Yes, I love sports!”) and even of forming successful
long-term relationships (“No, that dress
doesn’t make you look fat at all!”).But cyberspace introduces a host of new possibilities.
Survey research conducted by media
researcher Jeana Frost of Boston University and
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests
that about 20 percent of online daters admit
to deception. If you ask them how many other
people are lying, however—an interviewing tactic
that probably gets closer to the truth—that
number jumps to 90 percent.
