doing this) with no stakes and no pressure. There’s not exactly
an incentive to be honest online. It’s usually harmless – lying
about your natural hair colour or how much you like Bon Iver is
unlikely to hurt anyone. But putting yourself out there in the
vulnerable space of looking for love can risk much more than
your tender human heart, as the characters in The Stories You
Tell quickly find out. Dating apps aren’t inherently dangerous,
but rather it’s the deception that some people engage in while
using them that creates the danger.
So despite the modern coat of paint on the way we communicate
with each other, there’s nothing more timeless than the idea of
people lying to each other.
‘The Stories You Tell’ by Kristen Lepionka is published by
Faber and Faber (£8.99)