U.K. Survey Finds Gadgets Enable White Lies

A survey finds nearly three out of four Britons agreeing that technology and mobile gizmos make "techno treachery" - telling white lies - easier than ever.

A new survey conducted the U.K. by 72 Point on behalf of Friends Provident found that nearly three quarters of Britons surveyed—74 percent—agree that technology like computers, mobile phones, and BlackBerry devices make it easier to tell white lies, and 72 percent fessed up to stretching the truth via mobile phones or email.

The survey polled 1.487 respondents; according to the results, about half (51 percent) say that using gadgets and technology makes respondents feel less guilty about telling a white lie than doing the same thing face-to-face. Some 67 percent of respondents admit to having lied at work, and just over 40 percent said they’d lied to friends or partners. Some 84 percent said a white lie here and there won’t harm anyone, and the survey concluded most lies are told with good intentions and to spare others’ feelings.

Top topics for white lies at work include being sick, pretending to have completed work, or hiding a mistake. Top white lies told to friends and relatives includes lying about buying new clothes (or their cost), how good someone needs in something, what they’ve eaten, what they weigh, and how much they’ve drunk.

Considering tech toys and communications gadgets were top sellers this holiday season…people everywhere should perhaps get ready to be awash in others’ "good intentions."