I agree with most of what's been said already, but there is a flip side to this - and that is NOT telling the truth on forums such as this, or to be more precise, desisting from contributing to certain threads because of the probability of NOT being believed.
A few examples:
It is hard for the average 16 to 20 year old now to correlate to life as a 16 to 20 year old back in the 60's, and posts from old gits like me will seem to a lot on here as lies, or fantasy.
I do not know how much the average ticket costs now to watch your favourite singer/band in concert, but back in my day I could and did watch the top 10 big groups live for less than the equivalent of 20p.
The Who, The Move, The Searchers, etc etc. the list is endless, and what is more, the venue then was smaller, more intimate than those now, and mingling with the 'Stars' was nothing special - most of whom were not much older than us kids anyway.
I playfully chased Keith Moon (Looney Moony - a genuine nutter, bless him) the drummer with the Who across the lanes of a bowling alley in the early hours after a show, because he tried to write his name in indelible ink pen across my shirt. A group of us were drinking and talking with them for an hour or so. What are the odds of that now?
In the early 70's at another venue - a nightclub with casino - where big stars appeared, I was sitting with friends at a front of stage table (very civilised those old 'Supper Clubs' in the early 70's) and the star of the show - an American girl who at the time topped the charts - pleased me by leaning over singing to those at the front. I say pleased because she had great breasts and they were in danger from falling out of her dress when she did lean over (which I found out later was the whole point).
After her act, as I was going to the loo, she PULLED ME! and a crazy few months of dating ensued where I went everywhere with her during her UK tour. She even wanted me to go back to the USA with her, but the relationship ended when she returned home and I stayed here. (Ok I was a 'Groupie'
)
After hours at the Batley Variety Club/The Frontier, I have drank and spent hours in the company of The Real Thing and Village People to name a few. I actually ended up quite good friends with Ray from the Real Thing, and I could fill pages with similar escapades - all true - but desist for the same reasons as I now desist from posting my own true direct experiences with SOME immigrants, SOME Benefit Cheats, SOME rogue tenants etc etc on Serious Debates, because when I have, I have been mocked and called a liar -- even though every word was true.
People with relatively 'sheltered' routine lives will not have the same life experiences as some others, and someone aged 20 will not have the same life experiences of someone three times their age, but it does not naturally ensue that because of this that 'someone' is exaggerating or lying.
So I wonder - Paedo's, Catfish and some personal direct experiences apart - if there ARE some cases where internet acquaintences are suspected of being fantasists when, in fact, they are not?
I ought to add, that I worry for young people on here and on facebook and other internet places, at the sheer amount of highly personal information that they freely publish when the world is such an increasingly dangerous place now, with terrorists, perverts, burglars etc etc, all having access to that information.
I am outspoken in my detestation of terrorists - among other things - and with security in mind, I always try to ensure that I do not give out too many clues which would help them should they wish to meet me one dark night. I already receive very regular 'Notices' from my security prog that 'Attempts to access my pc have been blocked' and the fact that the greater number of these are from Syria, The Lebanon and Pakistan, does not make me want to start broadcasting my exact location etc.