80 per cent of people lie to get out of socialising, study finds

We spend four times more time watching TV than we do with our friends

(iStock)

People hate leaving the house and most of us have told lies to avoid doing so, a study has found.

According to a survey of 2,000 men and women, 8 out of 10 people have told lies to avoid leaving the house, and while they’re at they do nothing constructive.

We seem to have left behind the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) and ushered in the era of the Pleasure Of Missing Out.

The most popular excuse for staying at home is “I don’t want to be around people”. Other popular excuses include “I hate spending money” and “I am too tired”.

When at home, the most popular activity to partake in is ‘sleeping’, followed by ‘eating’ and ‘movies and TV’.

The American Time Use Survey revealed that Americans spend four times the amount of time watching TV than they do socialising with friends – an average of 2.8 hours a day in front of the telly compared to just 41 minutes of socialising on the average day.

The survey also found that parents of children under 6 spend an average of two hours per day providing primary childcare (reading or playing with children, bathing children and so on).

Have humans ceased to be social animals, and become lone wanderers who care more about Game of Thrones than actual people?

The average American attends just four social events per month.

But time usage surveys do not measure the amount of time people spend on smartphones – which are very often used for social interaction, just of a different type.

The good news is that, apparently, no one is alone in sometimes wanting to lie to their friends so they can go and have a much-needed nap.