Common Lies In Stephanie Ericsson's The Ways I Lie

In “The Ways I Lie” the writer Stephanie Ericsson exemplifies several types of common lies that people use on a regular to explain that lying is more common than we think. Ericsson compiles the different types of lies into subheadings in her essay, which includes: the white lie, facades, ignoring the plain facts, deflecting, omission, stereotypes and cliches, groupthink, out-and-out lies, dismissal, and delusion. I found myself relating to more than one type of generalized lie.

Ericsson began explaining the types of lies with a simple white lie. On a regular day-to-day basis, I tend to tell more white lies than a typical person. Without thinking I can often tell anywhere between one to five lies in a single conversation. Sometimes I think

I constantly find myself pretending to be something I’m not. It’s very easy for a teenager in today's social media crazed society to find themselves doing the unthinkable to fit it. From uploading the best selfies to the tweeting the most relatable song lyrics, people are always striving to be relevant. Pretending to be something that I’m not has often led to me being at a disadvantage, when others expect more from me than I can offer I’m faced with the reality that I’ve let them down.

It's just the same, if not easier, for someone to “forget” to mention something than it is to lie. Omission has to be the easiest form of lying. Leaving out a detail instead of creating a whole new extravagant lie can technically not be considered lying. My parents ask me every weekend what I’m doing and I usually leave out a few details. What I’ve planned isn’t necessarily bad, I’d just prefer if my parent’s didn’t know my entire schedule. Morally I know that this is wrong, but am I technically lying?

Typically when people lie due to delusion, they’ve placed a barrier between themselves and the truth. When I know that the truth could hurt me I tend to ignore it. If I don’t accept that there is a problem, is there really even