Help! Everyone is lying all the time!
New research has revealed that one in seven Americans lies about taking a vacation on social media. They post about living it up in an exotic destination when really, they are at home not doing that. What’s more, two-thirds of Americans who HAVE been on a vacation go on social media and lie about how good it is.
What Do People Lie About?
Plenty of things. Here are some official stats for your eyes from Jetcost (who revealed this information), to prove that I’m not lying to you:
The Most Common Lies
- Exaggerating about the weather – 34%
- The quality of the accommodation – 29%
- Amount of sightseeing/cultural activities done – 27%
- Amount of alcohol consumed – 23%
- Amount of money spent – 21%
WHY Are People Lying?
Let’s get to the bigger question here: Why do people feel the need to lie about their vacation status? The answer isn’t surprising: They’re lying to impress others, mostly, according to this study, their parents (31%), coworkers (23%), and friends (14%). Most people reported that they lied because they were “embarrassed” about their vacation status and wanted to seem more well-traveled than they were, and felt that they had to fudge the truth to impress specific people in their lives.
Here’s the Thing
All right, everyone, listen up. No matter what the reason is for lying about going on a vacation, it’s 100% not valid. You do not have to do this. To make this super clear, we’d like to take the time to address each possible reason why you might feel compelled to lie about your vacation status (even though you definitely should never have to):
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Price
Perhaps, like many people (myself included, honestly), you simply cannot afford to go on an expensive vacation. Well, guess what—a vacation does not need to be expensive OR luxurious to be incredible. Frankly, I’d rather look at a photo of someone authentically being themselves and having a good time at home than someone trying to impress me by standing on top of an exotic waterfall. However, if you have limited funds and would like to take a vacation you can tell the truth about, we’ve got some recommendations for you here.
Weather
The weather on your vacation isn’t as great as expected, so you feel the need to lie about it on Instagram, for some reason? You don’t have to lie about the weather on your vacation when the weather’s good all the time. We’re talking Los Angeles (all of Southern California, really), Phoenix (just not during summer months), Austin, listen, what I’m saying is take a trip to the Southwest regions and you probably won’t have to lie about good weather conditions (usually).
Peer Pressure
Do you feel like you need to lie in order to impress your friends or people you associate with in general? May I suggest making new friends, or seeing a therapist to help you realize that you don’t have to compare yourself to other people and let this determine your self-worth! You are not defined by your vacations. Also, just because someone is posting a photo of themselves in an exotic destination spot does not make them interesting, necessarily–please remember that!
The common denominator connecting all of the reasons to lie about traveling on social media boil down to one issue: caring about what everyone else thinks of you. If you’re into a little advice, take it from us: for the love of [whatever you believe], lying about your life on social media is not going to make your life better. In fact, the impulse to lie might be a sign that social media in general is starting to affect you negatively. So keep that in mind and maybe take a break from social media if it gives you the impulse to tell travel tales.