Have you ever met anyone who lied about their age when you asked them? This is a somewhat strange phenomenon as it seems like such a bare-faced lie; this is a simple question with a single, straightforward answer – there is no room for interpretation.
And really, when you think logically about it, there is no good reason to do so. When you tell someone your age and lie, you know that either the truth is going to come out eventually, or you aren’t going to see the person again, so it hardly matters!
Lie about your age at a cocktail party and what have you achieved? It doesn’t change how attractive you are and that person likely isn’t going to care very much!
Lie about your age on an online dating profile meanwhile and eventually you’re going to meet the people you’re dating. When it comes to light what age you really are, then you might find that any positive progress is simply stripped away!
So why do people lie about their age? What are they hoping to achieve? Let’s take a look at the psychology behind it…
Top Reasons for Lying About Your Age
Vanity
Of course, one of the main reasons that people lie about their age is vanity. There is a general consensus that it is more desirable to be young. Younger people, on the whole, are less likely to have wrinkles, they are less likely to have cellulite and they are less likely to stagger out of bed in the morning clutching their side. If you can get away with convincing people that you’re 5 years younger… then why not?
Something to Gain
In some cases, there might be a strategy to lying about one’s age. For example, if you lie about your age on a dating profile, then you can get people to meet you in person when you otherwise might not have. The hope is that you can then convince them that you’re attractive in spite of your age and that it thus won’t really matter when the truth comes to light!
Likewise, you might lie about your age if you think it can help you advance your career – though that is an even more risky proposition as most employers don’t take kindly to being lied to!
But of course people don’t only lie about their age to sound younger, occasionally people lie about their age to sound older! And of course this is something that many of us did when we were in our teens, in order to get into movies, to go out drinking and to impress people with our maturity! The irony…
To Fit In
Another more straightforward reason that people may lie about their age is to fit in with whoever they’re talking to. On the whole, we tend to spend more time with people who are in a similar age bracket to ourselves. If you are talking to someone who is younger then, you might lower your age when asked so that you can feel like ‘one of the guys or gals’.
Your age can also subtly skew someone’s impressions of you. Occasionally, admitting that you’re a little older can cause someone to think you may be out of touch.
And again, you may also have cause for making yourself sound older. Often, we tend to think of older people as being more authoritative and thus you might make yourself older to lend more credibility to your statements.
Confusion
Believe it or not, some people literally just forget their age, or get confused. After you’ve been saying one age for 365 days, it can be hard to switch your mindset so that you remember that you’re now a year older!
To Feel Good
Then there’s the possibility that you might lie about your age simply to feel good for a bit. Sometimes we lie to ourselves and if we present the image of a more youthful person and tell people we are younger, then we can feel younger too!
Plus there’s the fun of trying to get away with it…
It’s Time to Start Saying Your Real Age
While there are plenty of reasons to lie about your age though, the best strategy is always to come clear with your real age. That way, you can be authentic to who you really are and take pride in it.
And being older is no bad thing! If you are older than you look, then that in itself is something that will impress people and that you should be proud of. Likewise, if you are older then it means you have more experience, more knowledge (most likely) and whatever you say will be given more weight and more gravitas.
And it’s also true that you can be attractive at any age. In fact, attractiveness often comes from the way you present yourself and your confidence in particular. If you can work your current age and take ownership of it, that can actually be incredibly sexy. Lying on the other hand just looks insecure and will make people wonder why you look so much older!