Delayed Text Message Responses Might Indicate a Lie

By Phin Upham

Annoyed by how long a friend or coworker takes to text back? According to a new study, they might be thinking up a lie. A new study reveals that when people lie in text messaging or other digital messages, they take longer to write back, e Science News reports.

According to the article, Brigham Young University has released a study that shows that when people lie in digital messages, they not only take longer to reply, but they also make more changes to the text and write shorter messages than usual.

BYU professor Tom Meservy tells e Science News that digital conversations are the best places for people to lie because they can “easily conceal their identity and their messages often appear credible.” He goes on to say that people are not good at identifying deception on the internet, but that they are trying to fix that.

So how good are humans at detecting lies in person? Not that good, either. Meservy says people can detect lies about 54 percent of the time. But it’s harder via digital means because you can’t see the face or hear the tone of someone’s voice.

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About the Author:  Phin Upham is a writer and investor from NYC. He is published several books and online articles. You can contact him at Phin Upham Linkedin page.

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