Not all lies are harmful

Not all lies are harmful. In fact, sometimes lying is the best approach for protecting privacy and ourselves and others, some researchers say. Some deception, such as boasting and lies in the name of tact and politeness, can be classified as less than serious. But bald-faced lies (whether they involve leaving out the truth or putting in something false), are harmful, as they corrode trust and intimacy—the glue of society

We all lie, all the time. It causes problems, to say the least. So why do we do it?

It boils down to the shifting sands of the self and trying to look good both to ourselves and others, experts say. "It's tied in with self-esteem," "We find that as soon as people feel that their self-esteem is threatened, they immediately begin to lie at higher levels."

"We're trying not so much to impress other people but to maintain a view of ourselves that is consistent with the way they would like us to be, We want to be agreeable, to make the social situation smoother or easier, and to avoid insulting others through disagreement or discord.