Money is the top subject British adults lie about on social media closely followed by exaggerating the amount of fun we are having and embellishing our love lives.
New research reveals that 55% of British adults admit that they show a highly edited ‘best version’ of their lives on social media – indeed more than a third (36%) spend 5 minutes or more editing each picture that they post, equating to a 19,252 minutes or 13.4 days editing images over an average lifetime.
The study of 2,000 UK adults, which was specially commissioned by the TV channel W to celebrate its move to Freeview slot 25, revealed that half of respondents (50%) admit they regularly fib on social media. The statistics were even more pronounced amongst 18-24 years old's where two thirds admit to staging social media posts.
Top 10 list of things people think people lie about on social media:
- Money/Wealth - 46%
- Fun (how much we are having) - 41%
- Love life - 32%
- Perfect family life - 31%
- Body shape - 25%
- Social life - 23%
- Popularity/Number of friends - 16%
- Holidays/Travel - 15%
- Intelligence - 12%
- Fitness regimen - 11%
Almost a third of those surveyed (31%) admitted they lie about having a perfect family life and a quarter of Brits (25%) said body shape is one of the top things people enhance in pictures posted online. Other common subjects we tend to embellish include our social lives (23%), popularity/number of friends (16%), holidays/travel (15%) Intelligence (12%) and fitness regime (11%).
Young Brits are those most likely to feel the pressure to look 'perfect' on social media - overall, 72% of those aged 18 to 24 say they feel pressure to appear perfect in their posts – compared to just 19% of over-35s.
Issues around body images ranked highly - indeed over a third (34%) of young people admitted to enhancing their pictures due to unrealistic body image expectations compared with just 19% of those aged 35 and over who feel pressure to appear perfect in their posts.
The generational differences were also apparent amongst the older age groups with money and wealth becoming significantly less important for those aged 55 and over, who were more concerned with portraying perceptions of a perfect family and fun social life.
A desire to impress others is seen as the main reason for faking a glamorous lifestyle online, cited by 60% of Brits. Other common motives include attention-seeking (50%) and attempts to gain followers (35%), make others jealous (26%), become famous (24%) or attract a partner (16%).
Two thirds (64%) of adults surveyed say they have felt as if their social posts aren’t good enough and this was reflected by the fact that over half of the respondents (53%) admitted to changing their appearance specifically for a social post, and 36% of all the women surveyed admitted they would never post a picture on social media if they were not wearing make-up. In the younger cohort aged 18-24, nearly three quarters – 72% – have used a filter or editing tools to boost their looks in pictures they post.
More than three quarters of the respondents (77%) agreed that the polished content posted by influencers and celebrities contributes to people feeling as though they need to show a perfect version of their life on social media, and 58% agreed that if celebrities and influencers posted more unfiltered content on social media, they would feel more comfortable doing the same.
The survey was carried out to mark UKTV taking its flagship entertainment channel W free-to-air this week. Viewers will be able to sample hit shows such as Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, which has been awarded the Broadcast Digital Award for Best Popular Factual for three years running, and Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, with a brand new series airing in April. In addition, viewers have upcoming new series Rochelle Humes: Interior Designer in the Making to look forward to, and the joyfully competitive MasterChef franchise for USA, Canada and Australia.
Steve North, UKTV’s genre general manager for comedy and entertainment said: “We are confident that we’ve spotted a gap in the free-to-air market for W to fill; providing premium entertainment for people with busy lives who want to engage with shows that shine a spotlight on unfiltered personal stories that reflect our everyday lives.”
W is now available on Freeview slot 25 and Freesat 156. Viewers can also now watch hit W shows on UKTV Play – these include Myleene Klass: Miscarriage and Me, Should I Go Under The Knife with Cherry Healey, plus all episodes of Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over.
