Latest news with #lying
Forbes
5 days ago
- Forbes
How To Identity And Address Frequent Lying Among College Students
Some college students occasionally lie to their parents, peers, faculty/staff, and even their campus counselors. However, a frequent pattern of lying is often a sign of underlying emotional or mental health concerns. In a 2019 study in the journal of Psychiatric Quarterly, 18.1% of college students reported a pattern of lying every day. These students also reported lower academic performance, quality of life, and self-esteem, and stated that their daily lying negatively impacted their friends and living domains. Information about students who frequently lie is often focused on supportive ways to respond. For example, a 2021 report on provided suggestions for how parents can respond when they catch their young adult in a lie. However, it's beneficial for those who love and support college students to understand commonly reported ways that students can lie. Though the use of deceptive apps is generally associated with adolescents who live in the family home, the use of decoy and vault apps remains prevalent among college students and might indicate serious concerns. For example, a 2019 report on highlighted a college student who allegedly developed a decoy app to sell drugs. Many students present to campus counseling centers and talk about decoy and vault apps. Popular decoy apps include fake calculator apps. According to a 2022 report on a website offering reviews of security products, many fake calculator apps are working calculators until a passcode is entered while holding a certain key. Then, the app reveals other apps. It's not hard to imagine some students using fake calculator apps to hide apps related to gambling, eliciting sex, substance use, cyberbullying, etc. A 2024 report on provided a seemingly effective way to detect this decoy app. This report suggested that the size of calculator app be checked in the phone's settings. If the app is larger than 10MB, then it's likely a decoy. Vault apps store and hide sensitive information, such as private photos, messaging, and videos. According to the report on a sign that a vault app is being used is when common apps, such as Facebook Messenger, request a passcode. Other deceptive apps provide false information. For example, spoof locations apps allow students to change the GPS location of their phone. A 2024 report on also shared how to utilize mock locations on Android devices. There may be justifications for college students to use deceptive apps at times, but most smartphones have standard security features, and many students live away from home. Thus, the use of deceptive apps is a potential warning sign that students are intentionally hiding a serious issue. A 2021 report by Indian University Bloomington described falsifiability as a philosophical construct stating that it's easier to prove something false rather than to prove that it's true. Statements with high falsifiability are more likely to be true than statements with low falsifiability. For example, students are less likely to lie about grades if their parents have access to their transcripts, because these statements can easily be proven false. It's important to trust students, but it's also natural for truth-tellers to make statements that can be verified. Thus, a potential warning sign of lying is when students constantly make statements that cannot be proven false. In 2018, an online magazine for college women, posted a report in which students provided excuses that other students could give parents about not coming home during spring break. These excuses tended to have low falsifiability, such as the need to focus on academics. Parents often have no way to prove that excuses with low falsifiability are false. Thus, they must rely on trust. As stated, constantly relying on trust without verification is not natural. As outlined by a 2023 report on Psychology Today, many emerging adults are self-focused because of their stage in development. Thus, emerging adults tend to use first-person pronouns, inject themselves into various topics of discussion, and to talk about experiences from their point of view. Distancing language, such as using third-person pronouns and focusing on the point of view from others, might indicate a change from a student's natural way of speaking, which could indicate lying. As with low falsifiability, detecting distance language is a nuanced skill. A 2023 report on provided other possible ways to generally detect lying. In a 2004 seminal study by the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 82% of high school and college students reported lying to their parents on a major issue at least once in the past year. However, a frequent pattern of lying is not common and often reflects a serious underlying concern. Sometimes this underlying concern is not about the student. For example, some students use deceptive apps because their parents are excessively controlling. Regardless, finding ways to identify and address frequent lying among students is an important aspect of college mental health.
Washington Post
07-06-2025
- Washington Post
How can my husband and I best care for our elderly parents?
My dad has two sugar babies and asked me to lie to my mom 3 weeks ago
New York Times
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Mine! Mine! Mine! Children's Books About Greed
I am old enough to remember a time when we didn't need books to tell us that greed and lying are bad, when it was assumed children would be taught these lessons by their parents. Sadly, times have changed. Now it seems necessary to educate children — and their parents — on these subjects. Lucky for us we have two excellent new books to help us do it. The Caldecott medalist Chris Raschka's lightly illustrated novel PEACHALOO IN BLOOM (Neal Porter/Holiday House, 304 pp., $18.99, ages 10 and up) follows a girl named Peachaloo at the magical moment in childhood when she gains both the power to understand 'what people really mean, not just what they're saying,' and a 'blooming sense of good and evil' — abilities that will soon be sorely needed in her little town in central Pennsylvania's Appalachian Mountains. Raschka's prose is charming, written in a rural deadpan reminiscent of Kate DiCamillo, and the accompanying drawings are comical and oddball, like many of the novel's eccentric characters. Occasionally Raschka indulges in playing with the world he's created rather than pushing the story along, but taking joy in one's creation is a small sin, and smaller still when the creation is as worthy as the kooky town of Fourwords (whose name refers to the four words carved into the door frames of its oldest buildings: Hope, Faith, Charity and Patience). Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
ANDREW NEIL: In 55 years of covering politics, I've never accused any UK government of routinely telling untruths. But Starmer & Co have taken lying and gaslighting to a deplorable level
How can you tell when politicians are lying? Their lips are moving. It's a hoary old joke but it can still be guaranteed to raise a rueful chuckle among British voters increasingly disillusioned with the political process. I always thought it a tad unfair. Yes, politicians do deploy all manner of contrivances to avoid telling the truth when it's inconvenient. As someone who's spent an adult lifetime interviewing them, I can readily testify to that.
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Trial lawyer reveals the word that usually exposes when someone is lying
A trial lawyer has revealed the one word that is typically used by liars. Lawyer Jefferson Fisher, from Texas, boasts six million followers on Instagram and often posts about why the language you choose to use can have a big impact on how you present yourself. And recently, he went on the Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett to share the one 'dead giveaway' that someone is being deceitful. Jefferson revealed that when a person is being deceitful, they will often use absolutes and extreme wording in an attempt to deflect you from sniffing out their lies. But the one red flag you should watch out for is the word 'never', as it is often a favourite among fibbers. Jefferson told host Steven: 'Never is an extreme. Extremes are a dead giveaway that they're usually not telling the truth.' The attorney gave an example, telling Steven to ask him: 'Were you texting while you were driving that day?' Jefferson then responded: 'No, I never text. Never text when I drive.' He added: 'Everybody texts when they drive at some point. That's why the word stands out.' The TikTok famous lawyer said that liars will often reply quickly to your questions without thinking about what has been asked of them. This is because they are not thinking back to a memory or trying to recall anything - instead they are just rehearsing what they have already planned in their head. Jefferson says that this tactic can be reversed and used to catch them out, simply by slowly repeating the question. He used the example: 'You never text while driving?' This can cause the deceiver to crumble and go back on their original answer. He added: 'What they'll do most often is say, "Well, I mean, sometimes I do." Now they know "never" is a risk word.' However, Jefferson says the key thing is not to pounce on them once they start back peddling as this can be counterproductive. Instead, the legal practitioner says that it is important to 'give them an out'. For example, saying: 'If you were texting, it's okay'. Jefferson says that this strategy can depressurise the situation and instead allow them to be honest with you. However, there is a third way you can crack a fabricator - staying completely silent. 'Silence is the ultimate nemesis of liars,' he expressed. They create dialogues in their minds for you.' The painful quietness can often make them feel uncomfortable and leave them itching to fill in the gaps by explaining themselves without even being asked.
