Why Do People Lie About Their Age? (Spoiler: Everyone’s Doing It)

Turns out, lying about your age isn’t just for Hollywood celebrities and guys trying to squeeze into skinny jeans. A new poll found that 38% of people admit to shaving off a few years when meeting someone new.

RELATED: Here’s How Many Crunches You Should Be Able to Do at Every Age (If You’re Not Already in a Committed Relationship With the Couch)

And the bold ones? 12% claim to have chopped off more than five years. Whether or not they actually pull it off… well, that depends on how good their skincare routine is and how dim the lighting is at that restaurant.

Men vs. Women

Men were about twice as likely as women to fudge the truth. Which checks out — this is the same gender that thinks a two-in-one shampoo counts as “self-care.”

But beware: 62% of people say it’s a total dealbreaker if they find out someone lied about their age. And honestly, it will come out eventually — usually when you slip and mention graduating high school the year your date was born.

The Dating Game (and Beyond)

Sure, age fibbing is mostly a dating move. But imagine trying it at a bank:

• “I’m 25.”
• “Sir, your RRSP statements and receding hairline beg to differ.”

Other Sneaky Stats

• 44% of people have used old photos online — with 21% of those pics being more than ten years old. (So basically, MySpace profile pics are still haunting LinkedIn.)
  
• Men are twice as likely to use decade-old photos. Which explains why so many dating profiles look like they were taken at a MuchMusic Video Dance in 2007.
  
• 49% have been told they’re “too old” for something they enjoy. (Shoutout to all the 40-year-olds still at Taylor Swift concerts.)
  
• 71% say society underestimates them because of their age — though 65% claim they’ve never judged someone else that way. (Sure, Jan.)

So, moral of the story? Go ahead and lie if you must, but maybe stick to the good kind of lying — like “No, that haircut looks great” or “Of course I’ve seen your favourite obscure Netflix show.”

Because wrinkles are one thing, but being caught red-handed on your fake birth year is way harder to bounce back from.