Do Czech teens lie about themselves and their lives on their blogs?

A new research study suggests the answer may surprise you — generally, “No.”

In a survey of 113 teens, ages 13 to 17 years old, researchers discovered that when presenting personal information such as their age, gender, and place of residence, teens were generally pretty truthful in their blogs:

Generally, the level of dishonesty was low, with young adolescents tending to lie more often about their interests. Public topics (school and life) had the most truthful answers, whereas the least truthful answers concerned intimate topics (family life, partnership).

This flies in the face of some people’s previous opinions that a lot of people exaggerate or lie outright on their blogs. At least when it comes to basic demographic information, it appears that may not be the case.

Granted, this survey was conducted only on Czech teens. Teens in other cultures and from other countries may behave differently.

Blinka, L. & Smahel, D. (2009). Fourteen Is Fourteen and a Girl Is a Girl: Validating the Identity of Adolescent Bloggers. CyberPsychology & Behavior. -Not available-, ahead of print. doi:10.1089/cpb.2009.0044.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 7 Oct 2009
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.