By Daniel Hunter
First came ‘microblogging’, now a new term ‘microblagging’ has been coined in honour of the rise of 140-character porkies and facebook fibs. It seems that boring or negative updates are #out and upbeat feeds and posts are #in, no matter how fictional.
According to new research out from Barclaycard bespoke offers, just under six million of us regularly tell white lies or embellish stories on our social media channels.
And with a further ten million Britons poised for pretence and considering typing out a tall tale or two, the trend is set to rise. bespoke offers has been created by Barclaycard in response to a huge shift in British spending habits. It is a brand new kind of shopping experience with saving opportunities consumers might even like to boast about.
Two fifths (39%) of fibbers put their dishonesty down to feeling the pressure of needing to have a good time or sound upbeat in their updates. More than a quarter (29%) admit that their lives are simply too boring without embellishment. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, 40% admit to feeling envious of others’ posts and news.
Two fifths of respondents reported experiencing an unsatisfactory or boring event in recent times paying an average of £131 per ticket for the ‘privilege’. Clearly it’s never been more important to have good value experiences and stories to tell.
"It's true that none of us want to be disappointed. It's almost like we're embarrassed by not having a good time. It’s not just about the money," McFly’s Tom Fletcher said.
"The real social currency lies in going to amazing events and having great experiences you can then share with friends and followers online. We literally cannot afford - in every sense of the word - to have a bad time."
Interestingly the survey found that men’s primary motivation for ‘twibbing’ was maintaining a ‘cool online persona’ (15%). They are also twice as likely as women to want to impress their workplace colleagues (22% vs 8%), choosing Twitter over Facebook as their cheat channel of choice.
Women prefer to ‘fakebook’ and are more influenced by peer pressure with twice as many fearing the critical eye of their followers and friends (20% vs 9%). They are also twice as likely to doctor a photo by using an editing app such as Instagram or Photoshop (12% vs 6%).
“It’s clear to see that disappointment is costing us dearly in more ways than one. The nation deserves choice, value for money and that all-important social currency," David Herrick, managing director of bespoke offers, said.
"We launched bespoke offers to provide everyone with an opportunity to get personalised savings suggestions, allowing them to access things they want and like from everyday purchases to great experiences they’ll want to share. We predict bespoke offers could save Britons up to £2,100 per household.”
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