An article for The Conversation written by David Markowitz, assistant professor of social media data analytics in the School of Journalism and Communication, has recently been picked up by other publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune and more.

Markowitz’s article discusses the different ways people portray themselves through online dating apps and the various lies users tell in order to attract a partner.

By recruiting 200 online participants and reading their messages, Markowitz and his colleagues deduced that online daters often tell two kinds of lies: self-presentation and self-availability.

According to the article, self-presentation refers to lies people tell to change the way they are perceived, such as gym habits, likes and dislikes, and more. However, availability lies are smaller lies used to avoid communication, such as “my phone died.”

“Lying to appear like a good match or lying about your whereabouts can be completely rational behaviors.” Markowitz writes. “However, outright and pervasive lies — mentioning your love for dogs, but actually being allergic to them — can undermine trust. One too many big lies can be problematic for finding ‘the one.’”

To read the full article, see “The lies we tell on dating apps to find love.”