The Future of Lying
In light of our substantial focus on information cascades and network effects, it is interesting to observe – on a less mathematical scale – the ramifications of a plethora of networks in one pervasive human trait: lying. It is no surprise that deception has existed in numerous species dating as far back as we can detect, but the notions of networks, crowd-following, and globalization have been fundamentally altered in the past decade with the advent of smart phones, personal computers, and GPS tracking devices. What if the exponentially increasing dissemination of information will actually lead to a decrease in deception? It is a seemingly counter-intuitive thought that Jeff Hancock, an Associate Professor of Cognitive Science and Communication at our very own Cornell University, has managed to piece together through his research on our impressions of others online, our management of others’ impressions of us, and individual personality interactions in groups online.
In Professor Hancock’s September TED Talk, he analyzes the frequency of human lying in general, but goes on to observe how media such as email, text, Skype, and Facebook alter this intrinsic action. Through what he coined as a “diary study,” in which a volunteer is made to wear a microphone for 7 straight days to record all of their conversations, the group found that email is the most honest of the media with which people interact while phone conversation is the most riddled with falsehoods. Though this may seem counterintuitive, it appears in numerous other studies. Statistically, resumes from LinkedIn are more valid than their hard copy counterparts, Facebook profiles (when analyzed by the person’s closest friends and complete strangers) manage to still convey the same message to both groups, and online dating profiles (though notorious for misrepresenting their owners) have primarily subtle lies and comparably more truth.
Technology, therefore, is creating a sense of permanency that has never before existed. Language has been around for 50,000 to 100,000 years in humans, but written language has only existed for a fraction of that time. Lying, in turn, has still not entirely adjusted to the new world in which we live: one that sees numerous evidences of our words, exchanges, and actions on a routine basis. Collectively, we are all using tacit and explicit cues from others around us to direct our degree of truthfulness, and our decisions are constantly being determined by the information cascade that exists throughout social networks. Perhaps, as written communication becomes evermore intertwined with our lives, lying will one day become a thing of the past…though one can only speculate at this point.
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_hancock_3_types_of_digital_lies.html