[Loughla]

While I agree with you, your example is not a great one.. There are examples of fake relationships between stars dating back to the start of talkies.

But I do agree. It is more socially acceptable to just lie, as long as you're trying to make money or win an argument or something. It's out of hand.

[vladms]

Do you have any data to back that "it is more socially acceptable to lie"? I looked a bit and could not find anything either way.

The impression can be a bias of growing up. Adults will generally teach and insist that children tell the truth. As one grows, it is less constrained and can say many "white lies" (low impact lies).

We do have more impact for some people (known people, influences, etc.) than before because of network effects.

[frm88]

There is this study that claims/proves that dishonesty/lying is socially transmittable and

The question of how dishonesty spreads through social networks is relevant to relationships, organizations, and society at large. Individuals may not consider that their own minor lies contribute to a broader culture of dishonesty. [0]

the effect of which would be massively amplified if you take into account that

Research has found that most people lie, on average, about once or twice per day [1]

where the most prolific liars manage upward of 200; you can then imagine that with the rise and prevalence of social media the acceptance/tolerance has also socially transmitted

[0] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4198136/

[1] https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/2021-serota.pdf

[vladms]

Interesting, but one assumption for "would be massively amplified" is that we are more connected. It seems that people are (at least feeling) more lonely (ref: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/24/10/wha...).

So, while dishonesty can spread through social networks, does not address if the total dishonesty is larger or lower or equal to, for example 100 years ago, because there are many factors involved.

[frm88]

I'll link you a study that investigates this, but unfortunately it is paywalled if you don't have a paid Springer account: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-96334-1_...