Why do people lie online are they living a fantasy or winding us up?

People have always lied and online makes it easier for them to lie and not be found out.

Very few people are really good liars, ask the police. I always advised my son never to be a criminal, because of his inability to tie up all the ends. He took my advice.

Has something happened?

Ah, I see.

I know people who lie all the time in real life,Two men who moved abroad and created a whole new history for themselves.
Sadly they forgot I knew them before the fantasy and told me stories that I knew were lies,new friends of theirs believe every word about the exciting,adventurous lives the apparently led.
Must have all happened while I was asleep ,there was nothing extraordinary going on in daylight.
Some folk need to talk themselves up,one of our friends moved 6000 miles away and gave our name as a reference for a job we supposedly trained him in?
If only he had told us before we got the e-mail asking for further info about his career….

I think people get caught up in the scenes they dream up.
The longer it takes for them to be sussed, the harder it is for them to get out of their dream life.

They aren't winding you up, they are doing something else.

uite often they are lying to give themselves the life they want and to get away from a life that was full of pain.

I don’t know why, there are probably lots of reasons, but whatever their reason, they probably go away feeling dissatisfied with whatever responses they get, because they feel exposed, as usually they are sussed.

Some are hoping for people to respond with 'saucy' tales that will tickle their interest, IYKWIM.

Doodledog

Some are hoping for people to respond with 'saucy' tales that will tickle their interest, IYKWIM.

IKWYM!

Has something specific happened?

I’m puzzled too…….do enlarge Sago, please.

Yes there's on regular on here and politics whose stories don't
add up
It is sad because she obviously has the opposite life.
On line you can be what you want not what you are.

Has it anything to do with workmen and knickers ? Sago
🤣

I posted this on another thread, but perhaps it’s more appropriate here.
When I was a Sam we would sometimes get (hoax) calls (at night) about some potentially embarrassing situation often involving a man and his teenage daughter’s friend who invariably omitted to lock the bathroom door, or some tale involving underwear or accidental, of course, voyeurism. The story would develop becoming more and more risqué and our aim was to deflect the caller from achieving their their intended objective IYKWIM.
With experience you could usually spot the genuinely distressed or potentially suicidal caller so we would start by giving the benefit of the doubt, but the dodgy ones soon became easy to spot.
# justsaying.

Oh OK. I avoid the N&P thread as I am sure it attracts the Walter Mittys and life is too short to waste reading some posters.

A quick dip in and out of Gransnet while having a cup of tea and feet up in the heat is best for me. Scrolling past any which to me are rubbish.

I worked on a sexual health line for a while, obviously in addition to the genuine callers, we had a few non genuine ones, they were easy to spot.

I’m baffled.

What is this all about?

Knickers.

It's a thread asking for advice about knickers.
If I get deleted/ suspended for this rather than something interesting I will be irritated .

I imagine that in real life they are lonely and sad people.

I sussed out knickergate immediately

They lie online because they can, we are all anonymous the worst sanction is to get banned, then you start again with a different user name.
Many of the scams and hacking are just mischievous, to prove they can, all ages do it, taken to extremes it becomes an online fantasy world.

I'm clearly too trusting.

It doen't occur to me that people are fantasising or lying. Maybe because I wouldn't - I just don't see the point.