As new research reveals that lying on social media is distorting our memories of events, Katie Wright asks: When does a little harmless embellishment start to become detrimental to our mental health?

WE all know the culprits. Or at least suspect we do. The people whose Facebook pages are a non-stop stream of 'epic' nights out, heavenly sunset snapshots and champagne brunches, a flow so envy-inducing and unrelenting that it can't possibly all be true.

Breathe a sigh relief, then, because a new study reveals that it's probably not.

A survey of 1,000 social media users by anonymous diary site Pencourage found that 68 per cent admitted they lie on their social profiles, with 10 per cent saying they embellish so heavily that they "don't even recognise themselves" online.

Not only that, close to half believe their Facebook fibs might have, or already have, had an effect on their memories of the events they document, with nearly one in 10 "sure" that it's already had an impact.

"Studies show our thinking is anchored by a number of external resources, including how we choose to share and discuss our experiences - a huge amount of which these days occur online," clinical and counselling psychologist Dr Richard Sherry says.

"Being competitive and wanting to put our best face forward is entirely understandable. However, the dark side of this social conformity is when we deeply lose ourselves...

to the degree that we no longer recognise the experience, our voice, or the memory."

Indeed, the Pencourage poll also found that nearly a third of users "can't live up" to their online image and 14 per cent said their lies have led to feelings of sadness, shame or worse.

So is the solution to quit social media altogether? Well, not necessarily.

Because reminiscing can be also hugely pleasurable, so by editing our memories as we go along, we have "the capacity to look through rose-tinted glasses, and even feel nostalgic for times that weren't that enjoyable," Dr Sherry says.

Recalling fondly, for instance, that laughter-filled holiday in Florida and forgetting the monumental sunburn you suffered trying to top up your tan on the last day is no bad thing.

However, if we're going to counter act the liar-liar approach, then it's time for a bit of honesty all round.

"Ultimately, it's about preserving some sense of authenticity where we don't 'lose' who we are in a spiral of exaggerations," Dr Sherry says.

For those incorrigible champers-sunset-VIP fibbers, remember they're not doing themselves any favours psychologically, and take what they say with about a kilo of salt.

And if all else fails, there's always the "unfollow" button.

MOONPIG GETS RED CARD

GREETINGS card website Moonpig was forced to suspend its mobile apps after a blog post by a developer revealed he had found a major security flaw.

Paul Price says he originally told Moonpig about his discovery back in August 2013 and the company promised the problem would be fixed.

"Initially I was going to wait," he wrote in an angry blog post, "but I've decided to publish this post to force Moonpig to fix the issue and protect the privacy of their customers."

Moonpig responded with a statement saying "all password and payment information is and has always been safe", and that their website is unaffected.

Meanwhile, who knows if Price has sent a personalised Thank You For Finally Tackling Your Major Security Bug card to the Moonpig CEO...

GETTING THINGS DONE

COMPETITION between tech companies is often fierce, but Samsung's CEO has called for more collaboration between firms if the "internet of things" is to become a reality.

Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Boo Keun Yoon said "it is our job to pull together - as an industry, and across different sectors - to make true on the promise of the internet of things".

He's referring to the web that, it's envisioned, will connect devices in future, allowing us to control things like thermostats and household appliances through our smartphones. If electronics makers don't start to work together, the joined-up approach will be very disjointed indeed.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

MARK Zuckerberg has asked the

Facebook community for help to decide his personal challenge for 2015.

"Every year, I take on a challenge to broaden my perspective and learn something about the world beyond my work at Facebook," the social media CEO wrote in a public post, revealing that some of his previous attempts have included learning Mandarin, wearing a tie every day and only eating meat if he killed the animal himself.

So far the post has garnered more than 58,000 replies with Zuck (as he's known) commenting on the most 'liked' suggestions.

He hasn't said if he's picked a winner and the idea with the most likes of all hasn't got a response, but that's not surprising: it's an invite to lunch from a user in Palestine.

BROWSING AROUND... SATIRE

* The Daily Mash, Britain's best news and celeb mockery site - The-DailyMash.co.uk

* The Onion, eye-wateringly funny fake news from across the pond - TheOnion.com

* NewsBiscuit, tasty politics and news spoofs - NewsBiscuit.com n The Daily Currant, edgy comic news from all over the globe - Daily-Currant.com

* NewsMutiny, US site that describes itself as "satire for the wise" - NewsMutiny.com

* FAVOURITE THINGS: An online poll has revealed that people often lie on social media. Left, Samsung president and CEO Boo-Keun Yoon delivers his keynote speech at the consumer electronic fair IFA in Berlin, Germany PICTURE: Markus Schreiber/AP/PA