Welcome to Fakebook: More than 75% of people admit to making their lives seem more exciting on social media

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

Your friends' lives may look more exciting than yours on Facebook, but new research reveals that is because they are faking it. 

A recent survey has found around two-thirds of people on social media post images to their profiles to make their lives seem more adventurous.

And more than three quarters of those asked said they judged their peers based on what they saw on their Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook profiles.

Your friends' lives may look more exciting than yours on Facebook, but new research reveals that is because they are faking it. A recent survey has found around two-thirds of people on social media post images to their profiles to make their lives seem more adventurous

Your friends' lives may look more exciting than yours on Facebook, but new research reveals that is because they are faking it. A recent survey has found around two-thirds of people on social media post images to their profiles to make their lives seem more adventurous

The British survey, by smartphone maker HTC, found that, in order to make our own pages and lives appear more exciting, six per cent also said they had borrowed items to include in the images in order to pass them off as their own.

More than half of those surveyed said they posted images of items and places purely to cause jealousy among friends and family.

Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings said the trend was unsurprising given the rise of social media.

'We're living in a world of instant communication,' she said.

'Fashion and style used to live and die in magazines; now people are in search of authentic, peer-to-peer recommendations as well, making social media an equal power house to magazines and newspapers.

Half of those surveyed said they posted images of items and places purely to cause jealousy among friends and family. Six per cent said they would borrow items to pose with in photos and pretend they were their own

Half of those surveyed said they posted images of items and places purely to cause jealousy among friends and family. Six per cent said they would borrow items to pose with in photos and pretend they were their own

'With images being shared in an instant we now demand to know what our friends are wearing, or what celebs are buying, as soon as they have the item in their hand.'

Such is the influence of social media sites like Instagram, 76 per cent of those asked also said seeing items on social media influences them to buy them, with men more likely to take style advice and buy what they see.

HTC's Peter Frolund said: 'In 2015, everybody is a photographer, and more and more we are seeing people really use photography to express themselves and show the world exactly what makes them who they are.

'From snaps of people's homes to perfectly laid out outfit shots, every images counts and smartphone photography has never been more important.'

ARE YOU A P-PHUBBER? SNUBBING YOUR PARTNER BY CHECKING YOUR PHONE CAUSES THEM TO BE ANXIOUS AND DEPRESSED  

'P-phubbing' is a term coined when a person in a relationship snubs their partner in favour of their phone, causing their partner to become depressed

'P-phubbing' is a term coined when a person in a relationship snubs their partner in favour of their phone, causing their partner to become depressed

Are you the kind of person who checks their phone will talking to their partner or leaves their phone on the dinner table during a date? 

Then you're guilty of p-phubbing. 

Phubbing is the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone and p-phubbing relates specifically to when you ignore a partner one while doing so.

Researchers have now found that p-phubbing can cause the person being ignored to become depressed and anxious in their relationship, and it can even impact other aspects of their life

The term phubbing was coined in 2013 and is a portmanteau of the words 'phone' and 'snubbing', the additional 'p' stands for 'partner' and was added by researchers from Baylor University. 

Led by business professor James Roberts, a team from Baylor University in Texas surveyed 145 men and women in relationships.

Each participant was presented with a series of statements and was asked to rate them on a scale of how often they experienced them.  

The statements included: 'My partner glances at his/her phone when talking to me', 'My partner uses his or her phone when we are out together,' and 'during a typical mealtime that my partner and I spend together, my partner pulls out and checks his/her phone.'

They were also asked to explain how this made them feel.  

The results found that p-phubbing had a direct impact on relationship satisfaction across the board. 

This was intensified if the person being ignored had what's known as an 'anxious attachment style.'

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